Class 




Book '-yyeX 

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ALEX. H. STEVENS. 
'/S/tv.v fi-em ■■'■''' 



SOUTHERN HISTORY OF THE WAR. 



THE 



SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 



BY 



EDWARD A. POLLARD, 

EDITOR OF THE RICHMOND EXAiDNER, AUTHOR OF " FIRST TEAR OF THE WAE.' 



NEW YORK: (() 
CHARLES B. RICHARDSON, 

696 BEO AD W A Y 
1863. 



11£ 



,v 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, 

By CHARLES B. RICHARDSON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for ths 

Southern District of New York. 



iPREFACE. 



In presenting a second volume of a popular History of the 
Southern "War for Independence, tlie author gratefully acknowl- 
edges the kind reception by the Southern public of his . first 
volume, the generous notices of the independent Press of the 
Confederacy, and the encouragement of fi'iends. He has no 
disposition to entreat criticism or importune its charities. But 
he would be incapable of gratitude, if he was not sensible of 
the marks of public generosity which have been given to a 
work which made no pretensions to severe or legitimate history, 
and ventured upon no solicitations of literary success. 

He can afford no better vindication of the character and ob- 
jects of his work than by quoting here what was prefixed to 
one of the editions of his first volume : 

" Every candid mind must be sensible of the futility of at- 
tempting a high order of historical composition in the treat- 
ment of recent and incomplete events ; but it does not follow 
that the contemporary annal, the popular narrative, and other 
inferior degrees of history, can have no value and interest 
because they cannot compete in accuracy with the future 
retrospect of events. The vulgar notion of history is, that it 
is a record intended for posterity. The author contends that 
history has an office to perform in the present, and that one 
of the greatest values of contemporary annals is to vindicate in 
good time to the world the fame and reputation of nations." 

""With this object constantly in view, the author has com- 



IV PREFACE. 

posed this work. He will accomplish his object, and be re- 
warded with a complete satisfaction, if his unpretending book 
shall have the effect of promoting more extensive inquiries; 
enlightening the present ; vindicating the principles of a great 
contest to the contemporary world; and putting before the 
living generation in a convenient form of literature, and at an 
early and opportune time, the name and deeds of our people." 

Richmond, August, 1863. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The New Orleans Disaster. — Its Consequences and Effects. — Dispatches of the 
European Commissioners. — Butler "the Beast."— Public Opinion in Europe.— The 
Atrocities of the Massachusetts Tyrant. — Execution of Mumford. — Lesson of New 
Orleans. — Spirit of Resistance in the South. — Change in the Fortunes of the Con- 
federacy. — Two Leading Causes for it. — The Eichmond "Examiner." — The Conscrip- 
tion Law. — Governor Brown of Georgia. — Eeorganization of the Army. — Abandon- 
ment of our Frontier Defences. — The Policy of Concentration. — Governor Eector's 
Appeal. — First Movements of the Summer Campaign in Virginia. — The Eetreat from 
Yorktown. — Evacuation of Norfolk. — Destruction of the "Virginia." — Commodore 
Tatnall's Eeport.— Secretary Mallory's Visit to Norfolk. — The Engagement of Wil- 
liamsburg. — The Affair of Barh^msville. — McClellan's Investment of the Lines of the 
Chickahominy. — Alarm in Eichmond. — The Water Avenue of the James. — The Panic 
in Official Circles. — Consternation in the President's House. — Correspondence be- 
tween President Davis and the Legislature of Virginia. — Noble Eesolutions of the 
Legislature. — Eesponse of the Citizens of Richmond. — The Bombardment of Drewry's 
Bluff. — The Mass Meeting at the City Hall. — Renewal of Public Confidence. — The 
Occasions of this. — Jackson's Campaign in the Valley. — The Engagement of 
McDowell. — The Surprise at Front Royal. — Banks' Retreat down the Valley. — The 
Engagements of Port Republic. — Eesults of the Campaign. — Death of Turner Ash- 
by. — Sufferings of the People of the Valley of the Shenandoah. — Memoir of Tukner 
AsHBY Page 17 



CHAPTER H. 

The Situation of Richmond. — Its Strategic Importance. — What the Yankees had 
done to secure Eichmond. — The Battle of Seven Pines. — Miscarriage of Gen. 
Johnston's Plans. — The Battles of the Chiokahomint. — Storming of the Enemy's 
Intrenchments. — McClellan driven from his Northern Line of Defences. — The 
Situation on the other Side of the Chickahominy. — Magruder's Comment. — The 
Affair of Savage Station. — The Battle of Frazier's Farm. — A Terrible Crisis. — Battle 
of Malvern Hill. — The Enemy in Communication with his Gunboats. — The Failure 
to cut him off. — Glory and Fruits of our Victory. — Misrepresentations of the Yan- 
kees. — Safety of Eichmond. — The War in other Parts of the Confederacy.— The 
Engagement of Secessionville. — The Campaign of the West. — The Evacuation of 
Corinth. — More Yankee Falsehoods. — Capture of Memphis. — The Prize of the Mis- 
sissippi. — Statistics of its Navigation. — Siege of Vicksburg. — Heroism of " the Queen 
City."— Morgan's Raid into Kentucky.— The Tennessee and Virginia Frontier. — 
Prospects in the West. — Plan of Campaign there Page 69 



C0NTKNT3. 



CHAPTER III. 

EflFect of McCIellan'8 Defeat in the North.— Call for more Troops.— "Why the North 
was not easily dispirited. — The War as a Money Job. — Note: Gen. Washington's 
Opinion of New Enirland.— The Yankee Finances.— Exasperation of Hostilities. — The 
Yankee Idea of a " Vigorous Prosecution of the War." — Ascendancy of the Radicals. 
— War Measures at Wasliington. — Anti-Slavery Aspects of the War. — Brutality of the 
Yankees. — The Insensibility of Europe.— Yankee Chaplains in Virginia.— Seizures of 
Private Property. — Pope's Orders in Virginia. — Steinwehr's Order respecting Host- 
ages.— The Character and Services of Gen. John Pope.— The " Army of Virginia."— 
Irruption of the Northern Spoilsmen.— The Yankee Trade in Counterfeit Confederate 
Notes. — Pope's " Chasing the Rebel Hordes." — Movement against Pope by " Stone- 
wall" Jackson. — Battle of Cedar Mountain.— McClellan recalled from the Penin- 
sula.— The Third Grand Army of the North. — Jackson's Surprise of the Enemy at 
Manassas. — A Rapid and Masterly Movement. — Change of the Situation. — Attack by 
the Enemy upon Bristow Station and at Manassas Junction. — Marshalling of the 
Hosts.— Longstreet's Passage of Thoroughfare Gap.^The Plans of Gen. Lee.— Spirit 
of our Troops.— Their Painful Marches.- The Second Battle of Manassas.— A ter- 
rible Bayonet Charge.— Rout of the Enemy.— A hideous Battle-field.— Gen. Lee and 
the Summer Campaign of Virginia. — Jackson's Share in it. — E.xtent of the Great 
Victory of Manassas.— Excitement in Washington. — The Yankee Army falls back 
upon Alexandria and Washington. — Review of the Situation. — Rapid Change in our 
Military Fortunes. — What the South had accomplished. — Comparison of Material 
Strength between North and South.— Humiliating Result to the W.irlike Reputation 
of the North •' Page 82 



CHAPTER IV. 

Rescue of Virginia from the Invader.— Gen. Loring's Campaign in the Kanawha 
Valley.— A Novel Theatre of the War.— Gen. Lee's Passage of the Potomac— His 
Plans.— Disposition of our Forces.— McClellan again at the Head of the Yankee 
^riny. — The Battle of Boonsboeo'. — The Capture of Harper's Ferry. — Its Fruits 
—The Battle of Sharpsburo.— Great Superiority of the Enemy's Numbers. — Fury 
of the Battle.— The Bridge of Antietam.— A Drawn Battle.— Spectacles of Carnage.— 
The Unburied Dead.— Gen. Lee retires into Virginia.- McClellan's Pretence of 
Victory.— The Affair of Shepherdstown.— Charges against McClellan.— His Disgrace. 
— Review of the Maryland Campaign. — Misrepresentations of G«n, Lee's Objects. — 
His Retreat.— Comment of the New York " Tribune."— The Cold Reception of the 
Confederates in Maryland.— Excuses for the Timidity of the Marylanders.- What 
was accomplished by the Summer Campaign of 1862.— The Outburst of Applause in 
Europe.— Tribute from the London " Times."— Public Opinion in England.— Dis- 
tinction between the People and the Government.— The Mask of England.— Our For- 
eign Relations in the War.— An Historical Parallel of Secession.— Two Remarks on 
the "Neutrality" of Europe.— The Yankee Blockade and the Treaty of Paris.— The 
Confederate Privateers.— Temper of the South.— Fruits of the Blockade Page 123 

CHAPTER Y. 

Movements in the West.— The splendid Programme of the Yankees.— Kentucky 
the critical Point.— Gen. Kirby Smith's Advance into Kentucky.— The Battle of 
Richmond.— Reception of the Confederates in Lexington.— Expectation of an Attack 



CONTENTS. 7 

on Cinciunati. — Gen. Bragjg's Plans. — Smith's Movement to Bragg's Lines. — Escape 
of the Yankee Forces from Cumberland Gap.— Affair of Munfordsville.— Gen. Bragjj 
between the Enemy and the Ohio. — An Opportunity for a decisive Blow.— Buell's 
Escape to Louisville. — The Inauguration of Governor at Frankfort. — An idle Cere- 
mony.— Probable Surprise of Gen. Bragg.— The Battle of Perryville.— Its Im- 
mediate Kesults in our Favor. — Bragg's failure to concentrate his Forces. — His Reso- 
lution of Eetreat. — Scenes of the Retreat from Kentucky. — Errors of the Campaign. — 
A lame Excuse. — Public Sentiment in Kentucky. — The Demoralization of that 
State. — The Lessons of Submission Page 148 



CHAPTER YI. 

Our Lines in the Southwest. — Gen. Breckenridge's Attack on Baton Rouge.— De- 
struction of the Ram Arkansas. — Gen. Price's Reverse at luka. — Desperate Fighting. — 
The Battle of Cokinth. — Van Doru's hasty Exultations. — The Massacre of College 
nill. — Wild and terrible Courage of the Confederates. — Our Forces beaten Back. — 
Our Lines of Retreat secured. — The Military Prospects of the South overshadowed. 
— The Department of the Tbans-Mississippi. — Romance of the War in Missouri. — 
Schofield's Order calling out the Militia. — Atrocities of the Yankee Rule in Missouri. 
—Robbery without "Red Tape."— The Guerrilla Campaign.— The Affair of Kirk s- 
ville. — Execution of Col. McCuUough. — The Affair of Lone Jack. — Timely Reinforce- 
ment of Lexington by the Yankees. — The Palmyra Massacre. — The Question of Re- 
taliation with the South. — The Military and Political Situation. — Survey of the 
Military Situation. — Capture of Galveston by the Yankees. — The Enemy's Naval 
Power. — His Iron-clads. — Importance of Foundries in the South. — Prospect in the 
Southwest. — Prospect in Teiniessee. — Prospect in Virginia. — Stuart's Raid into Penn- 
sylvania. — Souvenirs of Southern Chivalry. — The "Soft- mannered Rebels." — Political 
Complexion of the War in <he North. — Lincoln's "Emancipation Proclamation." — 
History of Yankee Legislation in the War. — Political Error of the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation. — Its Effect on the South. — The Decay of European Sympathy with the 
Abolitionists. — What the War accomplished for Negro Slavery in the South. — Yankee 
Falsehoods and Bravadoes in Europe. — Delusion of Conquering the South by Starva- 
tion. — Caricatures in the New York Pictorials. — The noble Eloquence of Hunger and 
Rags. — Manners in the South. — Yankee Warfare. — The Desolation of Virginia. — 
The Lessons of harsh Necessity. — Improvement of the Civil Administration of 
the Confederacy. — Ordnance, Manufacturing Kesources, Quartermasters' Supplies, 
etc Page 164 



CHAPTER YII. 

The Heroism of Virginia. — Her Battle-fields. — Burnside's Plan of Campaign. — 
Calculations of his Movement upon Fredericksburg. — Failure to surprise Gen. Lee. — 
The Battle of Fredericksburg. — The Enemy crossing the River. — Their Bombard- 
ment of the Town. — Scenes of Distress. — The Battle on the Eight Wing. — The Story 
of Marye's Heights. — Repulse of the Enemy. — The old Lesson of barren Victory. — 
Death of Gen. Cobb. — Death of Gen. Gregg. — Romance of the Story of Fredericks- 
burg. — Her noble Women. — Yankee Sacking of the Town. — A Specimen of Yankee 
Warfare in North Carolina. — Designs of the Enemy in this State. — The Engagements 
of Kinston. — Glance at other Theatres of the War. — Gen. Hindman's Victory at 
Prairie Grove. — Achievements of our Cavalry in the West. — The Affair of Harts- 
ville. — Col. Clarkson's Expedition. — Condition of Events at the Close of the Year 
1862 Page IW- 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER YIIL 

The eastern Portion of Tennessee. — Its Military Importance. — Composition of 
Bragg's Army. — The Battle of Murfbeesboro'. — The Eight Wing of the Enemy 
routed. — Bragg's Exultations. — The Assault of the 2d of January. — " The bloody 
crossing of Stone River." — The Confederates fall back to TuUahoma. — Review of the 
Battle-field of Murfreesboro'.— Repulse of the Enemy at Vicksburg.— The Reoap- 
TiTRE OF Galveston. — The Midnight March. — Capture of the " Harriet Lane." — 
Arkansas Post taken by the Yankees. — Its Advantages. — The affair of the Rams in 
Charleston Harbor. — Naval structure of the Confederacy. — Capture of the Yankee 
gunboat " Queen of the West." — Heroism of George Wood. — Capture of the " In- 
dianola."— The War on the Water. — The Confederate Cruisers. — Prowess of the 
" Alabama." Page 204 

CHAPTER IX. 

An extraordinary Lull in the War. — An Affair with the Enemy on the Black- 
water. — Raids in the West. — Van Corn's Captures. — The Meeting of Congress. — 
Character of this Body. — Its Dulness and Servility. — Mr. Foote and the Cabinet. — 
Two Popular Themes of Confidence. — Party Contention in the North. — Successes of 
the Democrats there. — Analysis of the Party Politics of the North. — The Interest of 
New England in the War. — How the War affected the Northwestern Portions of the 
United States. — Mr. Foote's Resolutions respecting the Northwestern States. — How 
they were received by the Southern Public. — New War Measures at Washington. — 
Lincoln a Dictator. — Prospect of Foreign Interference.— Action of the Emperor Na- 
poleon. — Suffering of the Working Classes in England. — The Delusions of an early 
Peace. — The Tasks before Congress. — Prostrate Condition of the Confederate Fi- 
nances. — President Davis's Blunder. — The Errors of our Financial System. — The 
Wealth of the South. — The Impressment Law of Congress. — Scarcity of Supplies. — 
Inflated Prices. — Speculation and Extortion in the Confederacy. — Three Remarks 
about these. — The Verdict of History Page 225 

CHAPTER X. 

■ Character of Military Events of the Spring of 1863. — Repulse of the Enemy at Fort 
McAllister. — The Siege of Vicksburg. — The Yazoo Pass Expedition. — Confederate 
Success at Fort Pemberton. — The Enemy's Canals, or " Cut-offs." — Their Failure. — 
Bombardment of Port Hudson. — Destruction of "The Mississippi." — A Funeral 
Pyre. — Happy Effects of our Victory. — A Review of the line of inland Hostilities. — 
Hooker's hesitation on the Rappahannock. — The Assignment of Confederate com- 
mands west of the Mississippi. — The Affair of Kelly's Ford. — Death of Major Pel- 
ham.— Naval Attack on Charleston. — Destruction of " The Keokuk." — Scenery of 
the Bombardment. — Extent of the Confederate Success. — Events in Tennessee and 
Kentucky. — Pegram's Reverse. — The Situation of Hostilities at the close of April, 
1862 Page 238 

CHAPTER XI. 

Close of the Second Year of the War. Propriety of an Outline of some succeed- 
ing Events.— Cavalry Enterprises of the Enemy.— The raids in Mississippi and Vir- 
ginia.— Sketch Off THE Battles of the Rapfahannook.— The Enemy's Plan of Attack. 



CONTENTS. 9 

— The Fight at Chancellorsville. — The Splendid Charge of" Stouewall" Jacksou. — 
The Fight at Fredericksburg. — The Fight at Salem Church. — Summary of our Victory. 
— Death of " Stonewall" Jackson. — His Character and Services Page 254 



CHAPTER XII. 

A Period of Disasters. — Departicent of the Mississippi. — Grant's March upon 
Vicksburg. — Its Steps and Incidents. — The Engagement of Port Gibson. — The Evacu- 
ation of Jackson. — The Battle of Baker's Creek. — Pemberton's Declarations as to the 
Defence of Vicksburg. — A grand Assault upon the " Heroic City." — Its Eepulse. — 
The Final Surrender of Vicksburg. — How the Public Mind of the South was shocked. 
— Consequences of the Disaster. — How it involved affairs on the Lower Mississippi. 
— Other Theatres of the War. — The Campaign in Pennsylvania and Maryland. — 
Hooker manceuvred out of Virginia. — The Recapture of Winchester. — The Second 
Invasion of the Northern Territory. — The Alarm of the North. — Gen. Lee's object in 
the Invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. — His Essays at Conciliation. — The Er- 
ror of such Policy. — The advance of his Lines into Pennsylvania. — The Battle of 
Gettysburg. — The Three Days' Engagements. — Death of Barksdale. — Pickett's splen- 
did Charge on the Batteries. — Eepulse of the Confederates. — Anxiety and Alarm in 
Eichmond. — Lee's safe Eetreat into Virginia. — Mystery of his Movement. — Eecovery 

of the Confidence of the South Review of the Present Aspects of the 

War. — Comparison between the Disasters of 1862 and those of 1863. — The Vitals of 
the Confederacy yet untouched. — Eeview of the Civil Administration. — President 
Davis, his Cabinet, and his Favorites. — His private Quarrels. — His Deference to Euro- 
pean Opinion. — Decline of the Finances of the Confederacy. — Eeasons of their Decline. 
The Confederate Brokers. — The Blockade Eunuers. — The Disaffections of Property- 
holders. — The Spirit of the Army. — The Moral Resolution of the Confederacy. — How 
the Enemy has strengthened it. — The Prospects of the Future Page 269 



CHAPTER XHL 

REVIEW — POLITICAL IDEAS IN THE NORTH, &C. 

The Dogma of Numerical Majorities.— Its Date in the Yankee Mind. — Demoraliza<- 
tion of the Idea of the Sovereignty of Numbers. — Experience of Minorities in Ameri- 
can Politics. — Source of the Doctrine of " Consolidation." — The Slavery Question the 
logical Eesult of Consolidation. — Another Aspect of Consolidation in the Tariff. — 
Summary of the Legislation on the Tariff.— A Yankee Picture of the Poverty of the 
South.— John C. Calhoun. — President Davis's Opinion of his School of Politics. — 
"Nullification," as a Union Measure.— Mr. Webster's "Four Exhaustive Proposi- 
tions."— The True Interpretation of the Present Struggle of the South.— The North- 
ern Idea of the Sovereignty of Numbers.— Its Eesults in this War.— President Lin- 
coln's Office. — The Eevenge of the Yankee Congress upon the People. — The easy 
Surrender of their Liberties by the Yankees.— Lincoln and Cromwell.— Explanation 
of the Political Subserviency in the North.— Superficial Political Education of the 
Yankee.— His " Civilization."— The Moral Nature of the Yankee unmasked by the 
War.- His new Political System.— Burnside's "Death Order."— A Bid for Confeder- 
ate Scalps.— A new Interpretation of the War.— The North as a Parasite.— The Foun- 
dations of the National Independence of the South.— Present Aspects of the War.— 
Its extenu;! Condition and Morals.— The Spirit of the South and the Promises of the 
Future Page 292 



10 CONTENTS. 



APPENDIX. 

I. The Seven Days' Contests : June 25-July 1, 1862. — By a Prussian Officer in 
the Confederate Army Page 309 

II. The Battle of Gettysbukg and thk Campaign in Pennsylvania. — Diary of 
an English Officer in the Confederate Army .Page 826 

Chbonologt Page 875 



■ ^ 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

The New Orleans Disaster. — Its Consequences and Effects. — Dispatches of the 
European Commissioners. — Butler "the Beast." — Public Opinion in Europe. — The 
Atrocities of the Massachusetts Tyrant. — Execution of Muuiford. — Lesson of New 
Orleans. — Spirit of Resistance in the South. — Change in the Fortunes of the Con- 
federacy. — Two Leading Causes for it. — The Eichmond " Examiner." — The Conscrip- 
tion Law. — Governor Brown of Georgia. — Reorganization of the Army. — Abandon- 
ment of our Frontier Defences. — The Policy of Concentration. — Governor Rector's 
Appeal. — First Movements of the Summer Campaign in Virginia. — The Retreat from 
Yorktown. — Evacuation of Norfolk. — Destruction of the "Virginia." — Commodore 
Tatnall's Report.— Secretary Mallory's Visit to Norfolk. — The Engagement of Wil- 
liamsburg. — The Affair of Barhamsville. — McClellan's Investment of the Lines of the 
Chickahominy. — Alarm in Eichmond. — The Water Avenue of the James. — The Panic 
in Official Circles. — Consternation in the President's House. — Correspondence be- 
tween President Davis and the Legislature of Virginia. ^Noble Resolutions of the 
Legislature. — Response of the Citizens of Richmond. —The Bombardment of Drcwry's 
Bluff. — The Mass Meeting at the City Hall.— Renewal of Public Confidence.— The 
Occasions of this. — Jackson's Campaign in the Valley. — The Engagement of 
McDowell. — The Surprise at Front Royal. — Banks' Retreat down the Valley. — The 
Engagements of Port Republic. — Results of the Campaign. — Death of Turner Ash- 
by. — Sulierings of the People of the Valley of the Shenandoah. — Memoir or Turner 

ASHBY. 

Thr fall of New Orleans was one of the most extraordinary 
triumphs which the enemy had ohtained. It waS the crown- 
ing stroke of that extraordinary campaign of the winter and 
spring of the year 1862, in which, by the improvidence of the 
Southern authorities, and a false military policy which divided 
their armies and weakened them by undue dispersion, they 
had lost much of their territory, most of the prestige of their 
arms, and had fallen upon a train of disasters well calculated 
to affect the general public, both at home and abroad. The 
close of this campaign, so ill-starred to the Confederacy, found 
it with scarcely more than three entire States — Texas, Ala- 
bama, and Georgia. Large portions of the territories of Vir- 
ginia, the Carolinas, and Florida were occupied by the enemy ; 
he had broken our line of defences in Tennessee, and held im- 

2 



18 THE Sl'X'OND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

portant positions on the Upper Mississippi ; and now, by the 
capture of New Orleans, he had secured the great Southern 
depot of tlie trade of the immense central valley of the conti- 
nent, obtained command of an extent of territory accessible by 
his gunboats greater than the entire country before lost to the 
Confederacy, and had good reason to hope, by the junction of 
his fleets on the Mississippi, to open its navigation, and give to 
the West an outlet to the ocean. 

The conquests of the Federal arms made in the winter and 
spring of 1862, were not without their effect in Europe, and 
presented to the nations in that part of the world a sombre pic- 
ture of the Confederacy. The dispatches of our ministers at 
the courts of England and France declared that the prospect 
of recognition, of which they had formerly given such warm 
and sanguine assurances, had been overclouded by the disaster 
at In ew Orleans. Mr. Slidell wrote from Paris that the French 
government declared that " if New Orleans had not fallen, 
our recognition could not have been much longer delayed." 
He added, however, that he had been assured that " even after 
that disaster, if we obtained decided successes in Yirginia and 
Tennessee, or could hold the enemy at bay a month or two, 
the same result would follow" — a promise, to the breach of 
which, and to the unhappy expectations which it excited, we 
shall hereafter have occasion to refer. Mr. Mason, our minis- 
ter at London, also referred to the opinion that at the time of 
the enemy's capture of New Orleans, our recognition was on 
the eve of accomplishment. 

The immediate sufferers of the disaster at New Orleans were 
the people of that city. It was aptly rewarded for its easy 
submission by the scourge of a tyrant. The corrupt and mer- 
ciless master of this great emporium, General Butler of Mas- 
sachusetts, was a man who found no merit in submission, un- 
less such as grovelled in the dust and paid personal court and 
pecuniary tribute to himself. The rule of this vulgar and 
drunken man excited the horror and disgust of the civilized 
world, and secured for him in the South the popular sobri- 
quet of " the Beast." His order Mdiich stigmatized as prosti- 
tutes the ladies of New Orleans, who betrayed in the streets 
or from the balconies their indignation against the invaders 
of their city, while it made him the hero of the hour in the 



THK SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 19 

North with a people who admired the coarse spirit of the 
bully, drew upon him the execrations of all humane and honor- 
able people. In the British Parliament, Lord Palmerston de- 
clared the proclamation to be " infamous," and the condemna- 
tion of the indecent and dirty edict was echoed by the press of 
Europe.* 

The acts of the tyrant of New Orleans surpassed all former 
atrocities and outrages of the war. In frequent instances, 
citizens, accused by Butler of contumacious disloyalty, were 
contined at hard labor, with balls and chains attached to their 
limbs ; and sometimes this degrading punishment was inflicted 
upon men whose only offence was that of selling medicines to 
the sick soldiers of the Confederacy. Helpless women were 
torn from their homes and confined in prison. One of these — 
a Mrs. Phillips — was accused of laughing as the funeral train 
of a Yankee officer passed her doors ; she was seized, and 
with an ingenious and devilish cruelty, her sentence was pro- 
nounced by Butler — imprisonment on an island of barren sand 
under a tropical sun. Various pretexts were invented for 

* The "Order 28," wliicli has stigmatized its hrutal author throughout 
Christendom, Avas at first refused publication by all the newspapers in New 
Orleans. It was then copied on sheets of paper and surreptitiously posted 
on many of the principal corners of the streets in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of the St. Charles Hotel. The next day all of the newspaper offices 
were ordered to be closed for disobedience of orders. On this becoming 
known, the True Delta paper published the order, and the other newspapers 
timidly submitted to the force of circumstances, and published it also. The 
natural excitement and indignation that followed throughout the community 
is indescribable. Several lady subscribers sent to the newspaper offices and 
indignantly and positively forbade that such papers should longer be left at 
their dwellings. Mayor Monroe, with a party of influential citizens, at once 
called on the Beast and endeavored to obtain some qualification of the order ; 
buf they could get no satisfaction and were rudely dismissed. Mayor Monroe 
then wrote an indignant and reproachful communication to Butler, and again 
pressed him for a modification of the hateful order. Butler then sent for the 
Mayor. Mayor Monroe replied, " Tell General Butler my office is at the 
City Hotel, where he can see me, if desirable." Butler retorted, that unless 
the Mayor came at once to his headquarters, he would send an armed force 
to arrest and bring him there. Further opposition being useless, the Mayor, 
chief of police, and several friends, then went to the St. Charles Hotel, where 
they found the Beast in a towering rae;e. Butler claimed to be much insulted 
at the conduct of the Mayor, and without ceremony or delay, sent Mr. Mon- 
roe and those who accompanied him to prison. In a few days they were all 
shipped down to Fort Jackson.- 



20 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

plundering the inhabitants of the conquered city ; men were 
forced to elect between starvation by the confiscation of all 
their property and taking an oath of allegiance to the invaders 
of their country ; fines were levied at pleasure, and recusants 
threatened with ball and chain. 

The conduct of the negroes in New Orleans became intoler- 
able to their owners. They were fed, clothed, and quartered 
by the Yankees, who fraternized with them generally in a 
shameful way. The planters in the neighborhood of the city 
were required to share their crops with the commanding gen- 
eral, his brother, Andrew J. Butler, and other officers; and 
when this partnership was refused, the plantations were robbed 
of every thing susceptible of removal, and the slaves taken 
from their owners and compelled to work under the bayonets 
of Yankee guards. 

It would occupy many pages to detail what the people of 
New Orleans suffered at the hands of the invaders whom they 
had so easily admitted into their city, in insult, wrongs, confis- 
cation of property, seizure of private dwellings, and brazen 
robbery. The Yankee officers, from colonel to lieutenant, as 
the caprice of each might dictate, seized and took possession 
of gentlemen's houses, broke into their wine-rooms, forced 
open the wardrobes of ladies and gentlemen, and either used 
or sent away from the city the clothing of whole families. 
Some of the private residences of respectable citizens were 
appropriated to the vilest uses, the officials who had engaged 
them making them the private shops of the most infamous 
female characters. 

But while Butler was thus apparently occupied with the op- 
pression of " rebels," he was too much of a Yankee to be lost 
to the opportunity of making his pecuniary fortune out of the 
exigencies which he had created. The banker and broker of 
the corrupt operations in which he was engaged was his own 
brother, who bought confiscated property, shipped large con- 
signments from New Orleans, to be paid for in cotton, and 
speculated largely in powder, saltpetre, muskets, and other war 
material sold to the Confederacy, surreptitiously sent out from 
the city and covered by permits for provisions. Of the trade 
in provisions for cotton, Butler received his share of the gains, 
while the robbery was covered up by the pretence of consump- 



THE SECOI^D YEAE OF THE WAB. 21 

tion ill New Orleans " to prevent starvation," or by reported 
actual issue to troops. The Yankee general did not hesitate to 
deal in the very life-blood of his own soldiers. 

The rule of Butler in New Orleans is especially memorable 
for the deliberate murder of William B. Mumford, a citizen of 
the Confederate States, against whom the tyrant had invented 
the extraordinary charge that he had insulted the flag of the 
United States. The fact was, that before the city had surren- 
dered, Mumford had taken down from the mint the enemy's 
flag. The ensign was wrongfully there ; the city had not sur- 
rendered ; and even in its worst aspects, the act of Mumford 
was simply one of war, not deserving death, still less the death 
of a felon. The horrible crime of murdering in cold blood an 
unresisting and non-combatant captive, was completed by But- 
' ler on the 7th of June. On that day, Mumford, the martyr, 
was publicly executed on the gallows. The Massachusetts 
coward and tyrant had no ear or heart for the pitiful pleadings 
made to save the life of his captive, especially by his unhappy 
wife, who in her supplications for mercy was rudely repulsed, 
and at times answered with drunken jokes and taunts. The 
execution took place in the sight of thousands of panic-stricken 
citizens. None spoke but the martyr himself. His voice was 
loud and clear. Looking up at the stars and stripes which 
floated high over the scene before him, he remarked that he 
had fought under that flag twice, but it had become hateful to 
him, and he had torn it and trailed it in the dust. " I con- 
sider," said the brave young man, " that the manner of my 
death will be no disgrace to my wife and child ; my country 
will honor them." 

The experience of New Orleans gave a valuable lesson to 
the South. It exhibited the consequences of submission to the 
enemy in confiscation, brutality, military domination, insult, 
universal poverty, the beggary of thousands, tlie triumph of 
the vilest individuals in the community, the abasement of the 
honest and industrious, and the outlawry of the slaves. The 
spirit of resistance in the South was fortified by the enemy's 
exhibitions of triumph, and the resolution gained ground that 
it was much better to consign the cities of the Confederacy to 
the flames than to surrender them to the enemy. A time was 
approaching when Yankee gunboats were to lose their prestige 



22 THK SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of terror, when cities were no longer to be abandoned or sur- 
rendered on the approach of a foe ; and when the freemen of 
the South were to be taught how, by a spirit above fear and 
ready for all sacrifice, they might defy the most potent agencies 
of modern warfare. 

With the bright month of May a new era was dawning on 
the fortunes of the Confederacy. This happy change of for- 
tune was due not only to the improved resolution of the South. 
It is in a great degree to be attributed to two leading causes in 
the military administration. These were, first, the conscription 
law, with the consequent reorganization of the army ; and, 
secondly, the abandonment of our plan of frontier defence, which 
made way for the superior and more fortunate policy of the con- 
centration of our forces in the interior. 

The first suggestion of a conscription law was made by the-* 
Richmond Examiner — a bold and vigilant leader of the news- 
paper press of the Confederacy. It was met with violent op- 
position from the administration, with the clamor of demagogi- 
cal presses that the suggestion conveyed a reflection upon the 
patriotism of the country, and with the fashionable nonsense 
that it was a confession calculated to give aid and comfort to 
the enemy. But the early advocates of conscription enjoyed 
the singular triumph of converting public opinion completely 
to their side, and forcing the government at a future period to 
the confession that the system which it had at first frowned 
upon had proved the salvation of the country. 

At the beginning of the war we had nothing that deserved 
the title of a military system. There was no lack of zeal or 
determination in the South ; but the organization of the army 
was defective, its discipline was retarded by bad laws, and at 
a time that the forces of the enemy in Virginia had reached 
the highest state of efficiency, our own army was passing 
through successive stages of disorganization to dissolution. 
The army of the enemy was superior to our own in every re- 
spect, except courage and good cause ; they had every guaranty 
of success that numbers, discipline, complete organization, and 
perfect equipments could effect. 

The military system of the South dates from the passage of 
the conscription law. To this measure must be attributed that 
solidity in the organization of our army, and that efficiency 



THK SKCOND VI'AR OF THK WAR. 23 

■which challenged the admiration of the world. The beneficial 
efifects of this enactment were soon manifest as well to our- 
selves as to the world. It distributed over the Confederacy 
the levies in proportion to the inhabitants of each State- and 
county; it centralized the organization of the army, and it 
introduced a regular system of recruiting, which guaranteed 
that the efficiency of the army would not be impaired by the 
lapse of time and the loss of health and life incident to war- 
fare. 

The conscription law came not a moment too soon. The 
acts of Congress providing for re-enlistments had failed to 
effect the desired object. Without decadence of the real valor 
of our people, or their invincible determination to achieve their 
independence, the spirit of volunteering had died ont, and the 
resolution of our soldiers already in the field was not sufficient 
to resist the prospects, cherished for months amid the sufferings 
and monotony of the camps, of returning to their homes. 
The exigency was critical, and even vital. In a period of 
thirty days the terms of service of one hundred and forty-eight 
regiments expired. There was good reason to believe that a 
large majority of the men had not re-enlisted, and of those 
who had re-enlisted, a very large majority had entered compa- 
nies which could never be assembled, or if assembled, could 
not be prepared for the field in time to meet the invasion ac- 
tually commenced. 

The first act of conscription was passed on the 16th of 
April, 1862. It was aftei*wards enlarged by another act (27th 
September), giving the Executive the power to call into ser- 
vice persons between the ages of thirty -five and forty -five. 
Although the rush of volunteers had comparatively ceased, 
and the ardor of the individual did not suffice for the proffer of 
self-devotion", yet the sentiments and convictions of the mass 
recognized as the most sacred obligation the stern duty of de- 
fending, if needs be, with their entire numbers, their imperilled 
liberty, fortune, and honor. The conscription law was, gener- 
ally, cheerfully acquiesced in. In every State one or more 
camps of instruction, for the reception and training of con- 
scripts was established ; and to each State an officer, styled a 
commandant of conscripts, was appointed, charged with the 
supervision of the enrolment and instruction of the new levies. 



24 . THK SKCOXI) YKAK OF TUE WAR. 

The execution of the conscription law was unfortunately re- 
sisted for a time by Governor Brown of Georgia. The cor- 
respondence between him and the President on the subject, 
which was printed and hawked in pamphlet form through the 
country, was a curiosity. It was illustrated copiously by Mr. 
Urown with citations from the Virginia and Kentucky resolu- 
tions of 1798, and exhumed opinions of members of the old 
Federal Convention of 1787. In the most vital periods of the 
country's destiny, and in the fierce tumults of a revolution, 
the people of the South were refreshed with exhumations from 
the politicians of 1787, and the usual amount of clap-trap 
about our "forefathers," and the old political system that had 
rotted over our heads. 

The beneficial eflect of the conscription law in the reorgani- 
zation of our army was assisted by some other acts of legisla- 
tion. That reorganization was advanced by the appointment 
of lieutenant-generals, some commanding separate depart- 
ments, and others heading army corps under a general in the 
field. The policy of organizing the brigades with troops and 
generals from the several States was pursued, as opportunities 
offered, without detriment to the public service. The greater 
satisfaction of the men from each State, when collected to- 
gether, the generous emulation for glory to their State, and the 
fair apportionment of officers assured to each State according 
to its contribution of defenders to the country, overbalanced 
the inconvenience of separating regiments or companies pre- 
viously associated, and the liability to State jealousies. Mili- 
tary courts were organized to secure the prompt administration 
of the military law, to check desertion and straggling, to re- 
strain license of all kinds, and to advance temperance, disci- 
pline, and subordination. 

But it was not only the reorganization and improved morale 
of the army that came to the aid of the declining fortunes of 
the South in the war. 

The disasters on the Mississippi frontier and in other direc- 
tions had constrained the government to adopt the policy of 
concentrating its forces in the interior of Yirginia. The ob- 
ject of all war is to reach a decisive point of the campaign, and 
this object was realized by a policy which it is true the govern- 
ment had not adopted at the instance of reason, but which had 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 25 

been imposed upon it by the foi'ce of disaster. There were 
childish complaints that certain districts and points on the fron- 
tier had been abandoned by the Confederates for the purpose of 
a concentration of troops in Virginia. An inflammatory ap- 
peal was made by Governor Kector of Arkansas to the States 
of the Trans-Mississippi, representing that the government had 
deserted them in transferring its troops to other portions of the 
Confederacy, and suggesting that they should form a new as- 
sociation for their safety. But the appeal was severely rebuked 
by public sentiment. The complaint of Governor Rector cost 
him his election, and the display of the demagogue consigned 
him to the reproaches of the public. 

Such complaints were alike selfish and senseless, and in 
most cases nothing more than the utterances of a demagogical, 
short-sighted, and selfish spirit, which would have preferred 
the apparent security of its own particular State or section to 
the fortunes of the whole Confederacy. The fact was, that 
there was cause of intelligent congratulation, even in those 
districts from which the Confederate troops had been withdrawn 
to make a decisive battle, that we had at last reached a crisis, 
the decision of which might reverse all our past misfortunes and 
achieve results in which every State of the Confederacy would 
have a share. 

But the first movements of the famous summer campaign in 
Virginia that was to change the fortunes of the war and adorn 
our arms, were not auspicious. The designs of some of these 
movements were not properly appreciated at the time, and 
some of the incidents that attended them were real disasters. 

We have seen that by the happy boldness of General Ma- 
gruder in keeping the enemy in check on the line between 
Yorktown, on York river, and Mulberry Island, on ^Tames 
river, the advance of the grand Federal army, destined for the 
capture of Richmond, was stayed until our forces were rescued 
by the consummate strategy of Gen. Johnston from the pres- 
sure of enveloping armies, who arrived in time to reinforce our 
lines on the Peninsula. It became necessary, however, in the 
judgment of that commander, to fall back in the direction of 
Richmond. It was easily seen by General Johnston that at 
Yorktown there was no prospect of a general action, as the 
attack on either side would have to be made under disadvan- 



26 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

tages which neither army was willing to risk. The Yankees 
were in superior force, besides their additional strength in their 
gunboats, and in falling back so as to invest the line of the 
Chickahorainy, General Johnston expected to force the enemy 
to more equal terms. The difficulty was to match the strength 
of the enemy on the water ; and the best practical equivalent 
for this was considered to be the open field, where gunboats 
being out of the question, the position of our troops would be 
the same as if at Yorktown they had had a force of gunboats 
exactly equal to that of the enemy, thus neutralizing his ad- 
vantage in respect of naval armament. 

The retreat from Yorktown produced uneasiness in the pub- 
lic mind, and naturally shook the confidence of the many who 
were in ignorance of the plans of the cautious and taciturn 
strategist at the head of our forces in Virginia. It involved 
our surrender of Norfolk, with all the advantages of its con- 
tiguous navy-yard and dock. And it was accompanied by a 
disaster which, in so far as it was supposed to be unnecessary 
and wanton, occasioned an amount of grief and rage in the 
Confederacy such as had not yet been exhibited in the war. 

This memorable disaster was the destruction of the famous 
mailed steamer Virginia — " the iron diadem of the South." 
This vessel, w^hich had obtained for us our first triumph on the 
water, was an object of pride, and almost of affection, to the 
people of the South. She was popularly said to be worth fifty 
thousand troops in the field. Nor was this estimate excessive, 
when it is recollected that she protected Norfolk, the navy- 
yard, and James river ; that no fleet of transports could safely 
laud its troops, designed to attack those places, at any point 
from Cape Henry to the upper James, as far as she could 
ascend^; that her presence at Norfolk had annihilated the land 
and water blockade at Newport News, passed the control of 
the James river into our hands, and protected the right flank 
of our army on the Peninsula. 

The Virginia was destroyed under the immediate orders of 
her commander. Commodore Tatnall, on the morning of the 
11th of May, in the vicinity of Craney Island. According to 
his statement, he had been betrayed into the necessity of de- 
stroying his vessel by firing her magazine, by the deceitful 
representations of his pilots, who at first assured him that they 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE "WAR. 27 

could take the ship, with a draft of eighteen feet of water, 
within forty miles of Richmond, and after having lifted her so 
as to unfit her for action, then declared that they could not get 
her above the Jamestown flats, up to which point the shore on 
each side was occupied by the enemy. It is proper to add, 
that this statement of facts was contested by the pilots, who 
resented the reflections made upon their loyalty or courage. 
Whatever may have been the merits of this controversy, it is 
certain that the vesseUwas destroyed in great haste by Com- 
modore Tatnall, who, in the dead hour of night, aroused 
from his slumbers and acquainted with the decision of his 
pilots, ordered the ship to be put ashore, landed his crew in the 
vicinity of Craney Island, and blew to the four winds of heaven 
the only naval structure that guarded the water approach to 
Richmond. 

The destruction of the Virginia was a sharp and unexpected 
blow to the confidence of the people of the South in their gov- 
ernment. How far the government was implicated in this 
foolish and desperate act, was never openly acknowledged or 
exactly ascertained ; but despite the pains of ofiicial conceal- 
ment, there are certain well-attested facts which indicate that 
in the destruction of this great war-ship, the authorities at 
Richmond were not guiltless. These facts properly belong to 
the history of one of the most unhappy events that had occurred 
since the commencement of the war. 

The Virginia was destroyed at 5 a. m. of the 11th of May. 
During the morning of the same day a prominent politician in 
the streets of Richmond was observed to be very much de- 
jected ; he remarked that it was an evil day for the Confed- 
eracy. On being questioned by his intimate friends, he declared 
to them that the Government had determined upon, or assented 
to, the destruction of the Virginia, and that he had learned 
this from the highest sources of authority in the capital. At 
this time the news of the explosion of the Virginia could not 
have possibly reached Richmond ; there was no telegraphic 
communication between the scene of her destruction and the 
city, and the evidence appears to be complete, that the Gov- 
ernment had at least a prevision of the destruction of this ves- 
sel, or had assented to the general policy of the act. trusting, 
perhaps, to acquit itself of the responsibility for it on the 



28 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

unworthy plea that it kad given no express orders in the 
matter. 

Again, it is well known that for at least a week prior to the 
destruction of the Yirginia, the evacuation of Norfolk had 
been determined upon ; that during this time the removal of 
stores was daily progressing ; and that Mr. Mallory, the Sec- 
retary of the Navy, had within this period, himself, visited 
Norfolk to look after the public interests. The evacuation of 
this port clearly involved the question, •what disposition was to 
be made of the Yirginia. If the Government made no decision 
of a question, which for a week stared it in the face, it cer- 
tainly was very strangely neglectful of the public interest. 
If Mr. Mallory visited Norfolk when the evacuation was going 
on, and never thought of the Virginia, or thinking of her, 
kept dumb, never even giving so much as an official nod as to 
what disposition should be made of her, he must have been 
more stupid than the people who laughed at him in Richmond, 
or the members of Congress who nicknamed without mercy, 
thought him to be. 

It is also not a little singular that when a court of inquiry 
had found that the destruction of the Yirginia was unnecessary 
and improper, Mr. Mallory should have waived the calling of 
a court-martial, forgotten what was due to the public interest 
on such a finding as that made by the preliminary court, and 
expressed himself satisfied to let the matter rest. The fact is 
indisputable, that the court-martial, which afterwards sat in 
the case, was called at the demand of Commodore Tatnall him- 
self. It resulted in his acquittal. 

The evacuation of Norfolk was the occasion of great distress 
to its population. But it was the part of a wise policy, that our 
military lines should be contracted and that the troops of Gen. 
Huger should be consolidated with the army before Richmond. 

The retreat from Yorktown to the Chickahominy was marked 
by spirited incidents and by one important engagement. 
McClellan becoming, through an accident, aware of the move- 
ment of General Johnston, immediately pursued our columns, 
which recoiled on him at Williamsburg, on the 5th of May, 
and drove back his army. During the whole of that day, 
General Longstreet's division, which brought up the rear, was 
engaged with the enemy from sunrise to sunset. The day was 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 29 

marked by signal successes, for we captured three hundred and 
lifty prisoners, took nine pieces of artillery, and left on the 
field, in killed and wounded, at least three thousand of the 
enemy. During the night our army resumed its movement 
towards Richmond, and half an hour after sunrise it had 
evacuated the town, under the necessity of leaving our killed 
and wounded in the hands of the enemy. 

The following day, the insolence of the enemy was again 
checked on the route of our retreat. On the 7th of May he 
attempted a landing, under cover of his gunboats, at Barhams- 
ville, near "West Point, The attempt was ineffectual. The 
Yankees were driven back, after they had assaulted our posi- 
tion three different times — the last time being forced to the 
cover of their gunboats by the brave Texans of General "Whi- 
ting's division, who, in the face of an artillery fire, pressed the 
fugitives so closely that many were driven into the river and 
drowned. 

The investment of the lines of the Chickahominy brought 
the two opposing armies within sight of Richmond. After a 
desultory military experience, a useless and inglorious march 
to Manassas, a long delay on the banks of the Potomac and 
Chesapeake, and a vague abandonment of these lines for opera- 
tions on the Peninsula, McClellan, who was the " Napoleon" 
of the Democratic party of the North, but a slow and con- 
temptible blnnderer in the estimation of the Republicans, 
found himself, by the fortune of circumstances, within sight of 
the steeples and spires of the long-sought capital of the Con- 
federacy, 

The proximity of the enemy was an occasion of great anxi- 
ety to the people of Richmond, and the visible tremor of the 
Confederate authorities in that city was not a spectacle calcu- 
lated either to nerve the army or assure the citizens. The fact 
is, that the Confederate authorities had shamefully neglected 
the defences of Richmond, and w^ere now making preparations 
to leave it, which were called prudential, but which naturally 
inspired a panic such as had never before been witnessed in 
the histor}'- of the war. The destruction of the Yirginia had 
left the water avenue to Richmond almost undefended. The 
City Council had for months been urging upon the Confederate 
Government the necessity of obstructing the river, and failing 



30 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

to induce them to liurry on the work, had, with patriotic zeal, 
undertaken it themselves. A newspaper in Eichmond — the 
Kcamincr — had in good time pointed out the necessity of 
obstructing the river with stone, but the counsel was treated 
with such conceit and harshness by the government, that it 
was onl}' at the risk of its existence that that paper continued 
for weeks to point out the insecurity of Eichmond and the 
omissions of its authorities. The government was at last 
aroused to a sense of danger only to fall to work in ridiculous 
haste, and with the blindness of alarm. The appearance of 
the Yankee gunboats in James river was the signal for Mr. 
Secretary Mallory to show his alacrity in meeting the enemy 
by an advertisement for "timber" to construct new naval 
defences. The only obstruction between the city and the 
dread Monitor and the gunboats was a half-finished fort at 
Drewry's Blufi", which mounted four guns. Some of the Con- 
federate officers had taken a " gunboat panic," for the line of 
stone obstructions in the river was not yet complete. They 
seized upon schooners at the wharves loaded with plaster of 
paris, guano, and other valuable cargoes, carried them to points 
where they supposed, the passage of the river was to be con- 
tested, and in some instances sunk them in the wrong places. 

There is no doubt that about this time the authorities of the 
Confederate States had nigh despaired of the safety of Rich- 
mond. The most urgent appeals had been made to Congress 
by the press and the people to continue its session in Rich- 
mond while the crisis impended. But its members refused to 
give this mark of confidence to the government, or to make 
any sacrifice of their selfish considerations for the moral 
encouragement of their constituents. They had adjourned in 
haste and left Richmond, regarding only the safety of their 
persons or the convenience of their homes. 

Nor was the Executive more determined. In the President's 
mansion about this time all was consternation and dismay. A 
letter written by one of his family at a time when Richmond 
was thought to be imminently threatened, and intercepted by 
the enemy, afibrded excessive merriment to the Yankees, and 
made a painful exhibition to the South of the weakness and 
fears of those intrusted with its fortunes. This letter, written 
with refreshing simplicity of heart, overflowed with pitiful 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 31 

sympathy for tlie President, and amused the enemy with refer- 
ences to the sore anxieties of " Uncle Jeff." and to the prospect 
of his sinking under the misfortunes of his administration. 
The authenticity of this letter was never called into question : 
it is a painful and delicate historical evidence, but one to 
which, in the interests of truth, allusion should not be spared.* 

* The fullowing is a portion of the letter referred to. The reflections which 
it makes upon the courage of our noble, suffering soldiers were probably hasty, 
and may be spared here : 

. . . " When I think of the dark gloom that now hovers over our 
country, I am ready to sink with despair. There is a probability of General 
Jackson's army falling back on Richmond, and in view of this, no lady is allowed 
to go up on the railroad to Gordonsville for fear, if allowed to one, that many 
others would wish to do it, which would incommode the army. 

General Johnston is falling back from the Peninsula, or Yorktown, and Uncle 
Jeff. IfUnkc we had better go to a safer place than Richmond. 

We have not decided yet where we shall go, but I think to North Carolina, to 
some far off country town, or, perhaps, to South Carolina. If Johnston falls 
back as far as Richmond, all our troops from Gordonsville and " Swift Run Gap" 
will also fall back to this place, and make one desperate stand against McClellan. 
If you will look at the map, you will see that the Yankees are approaching 
Richmond from three different directions — from Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, 
and Yorktown. O God ! defend this people with thy powerful arm, is my 
constant prayer. Oh, mother, Uncle Jeff, is miserable. He tries to be cheerful, 
and bear up against such a continuation of troubles, but, oh, I fear he cannot 
live long, if he does not get some rest and quiet. 

Onr reverses distressed him so much, and he is so weak and feeble, it makes 
my heart ache to look at him. He knows that he ought to send his wife and 
children away, and yet he cannot bear to part with them, and we all dread to 
leave him too. Varina and I had a hard cry about it to-day. 

Oh ! what a blow the fall of New Orleans was. It liked to have set us all 
crazy here Everybody looks depressed, and the cause of the Confederacy looks 
drooping and sinking ; but if God is with us, who can be against us ? Our troops 

are not doing as well a& we expected The regiments that 

are most apt to run are from North Carolina and Tennessee. I am thankful to 
say that the Mississippi and Louisiana troops behave gloriously whenever .called 
on to fight. 

Uncle Jeff, thinks you are safe at home, as there will be no resistance at Vicksburg, 
and the Yankees will hardly occupy it ; and, even if they did, the army would 
gain nothing by marching into the country, and a few soldiers would be afraid 
to go so far into the interior. 

P. S. We all leave here to-morrow morning for Raleigh. Three gunboats 
are in James river, on their way to the city, and may probably reach here in a 
few hours ; so we have no longer any time to delay. / only hope that we have not 
delayed loo long already. I shall then be cut off from all communication with 
, and I expect to have no longer any peace. 

I will write again from Raleigh, and Fanny must write me a letter and direct 
it to Raleigh ; perhaps I may get it. I am afraid that Richmond will fall into 



32 THK SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

It is true that President Davis, when invited by the Legisla- 
ture of Virginia to express his intentions towards Kichmond, 
had declared that he entertained the prospect of holding it. 
But his reply was full of embarrassment. While he declared 
his intention not to surrender the city, he at the same time 
suggested the fanciful possibility, that even with the loss of 
Kichmond our struggle for independence might be protracted 
for many years in the mountains of Virginia, in the mean 
time, the acts of the Confederate officials gave visible and 
unmistakable signs of their sense of the insecurity of the 
capital. They added to the public alarm by preparations to 
remove the archives. They ran off their wives and children 
into the country. They gave the public every reason to 
believe that Richmond was to become the prey of the enemy, 
and the catastrophe was awaited with lively alarm, or dull and 
melancholy expectation. 

In the early weeks of May the capital of the Confederacy 
presented many strange and humiliating spectacles. The air 
was filled with those rumors of treason and disloyalty which 
seem invariably to grow out of a sense of insecurity. Men 
who had been loudest in their professions of resistance and 
self-devotion when the Yankees were at a distance, were now 
engaged in secreting their property, and a few openly flattered 
themselves that they had not committed themselves in the war 
in a way to incur the enemy's resentment. Some of them had 
their cellars packed with manufactured tobacco. The railroad 
trains were crowded with refugees. At every extortioner's 
shop on Main street, even including the bookstores, an array 
of packing trunks invited attention, and suggested the necessity 
of flight from Richmond. At the railroad depots were to be 
seen piles of baggage, awaiting transportation. But the most 
abundant and humiliating signs of the panic were to be seen 



the hands of the enemy, as there is no way to keep back the gunboats. James 
river is so high that all obstructions are in danger of being washed away ; so 
that there is no help for the city. She will either submit or else be shelled, and 
I think the latter alternative will be resorted to. 

Uncle Jeff, was confirmed last Tuesday in St. Paul's Church by Bishop Johns. 
He was baptized at home in the morning before church. 

Do try to get a letter to me some way. Direct some to Raleigh and some "to 
Richmond. , Yours, ever devotedly, 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 33 

in the number of pine boxes about the departments ticketed 
" Columbia, South Carolina," and which contained the most 
valuable of the public archives. 

In this condition of the public mind, a new appeal was made 
to it. When it was ascertained that the Monitor, Galena, and 
Aristook, were about to head for Richmond, the Legislature of 
Virginia passed resolutions calling upon the Confederate 
authorities to defend it to the last extremity, and to make 
choice of its destruction rather than that of surrender to the 
enemy. This resolution was worthy of the noble State of Vir- 
ginia, and of a people who were the descendants of Wash- 
ijigton's contemporaries, of Hampden's friends, and of King 
John's barons. Its terms were too explicit to admit of any 
doubt in their construction, or any wavering on the part of the 
Confederate authorities. They expressed the desire that Rich- 
mond should be defended to the last extremity, and declared 
that " the President be assured, that whatever destruction or 
loss of property of the State or individuals shall thereby result, 
will be cheerfully submitted to." 

The resolutions of the Legislature were responded to in 
meetings of citizens. The magical effects of the spirit which 
they created will long be remembered in Richmond. The 
Confederate authorities were stimulated by the brave lesson ; 
inert and speculative patriotism was aroused to exertion ; 
mutual inspiration of. courage and devotion passed from heart 
to heart through the community, and with the restoration of 
public confidence, came at last vigorous preparations. The 
James was rapidly filled up, the works at Drewry's Bluff were 
strengthened, and a steady defiance offered to the Yankee gun- 
boats, which had appeared within a few miles of the city at a 
moment when the last gap in our river obstructions was filled 
up by a scuttled schooner. 

On the loth of May, the fleet of Yankee gunboats in the 
James opened an attack on our batteries at Drewry's Bluff. 
The sound of the guns was heard in the streets of Richmond, 
and various and uncertain reports of the fortunes of the contest 
agitated the public. In the midst of the excitement, an extra- 
ordinary scene occurred in the city. A meeting of citizens 
had been called at the City Hall on an accidental occasion, 
and at the enthusiastic call of the crowd, impromptu addresses 

3 



34 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAE. 

were made by the Governor of Virginia and the Mayor of the 
city. Each of these officials pledged his faith that Rich- 
mond should never be surrendered. Gov. Letcher declared, 
with a peculiar warmth of expression, that if the demand was 
made upon him, with the alternative to surrender or be shelled, 

he should reply, "bombard and be d d." Mayor Mayo 

was not less determined in the language which he addressed to 
the citizens. lie told them that even if they were to require 
him to surrender the Capital of Virginia and of the Confed- 
eracy, he would, sooner than comply, resign the mayoralty ; 
and that, despite his age, he still had the nerve and strength 
to shoulder a musket in defence of the city founded by one of 
his ancestors. These fervid declarations were responded to by 
the citizens with wild and ringing shouts. Nor were these the 
demonstrations of a mob. Among those who so enthusias- 
tically approved the resolution of consigning Richmond to the 
flames rather than to the possession of the enemy, were some 
of the most wealthy and respectable citizens of the place, 
whose stakes of property in the city were large, and whose 
beautiful homes were exposed to the shot and shell of the 
malignant foe. 

The night brought the news of a signal victory. Our batter- 
ies, under the skilful command of Capt. Farrand, had, after a 
contest of four hours and a half, given a decisive repulse to 
the gunboats, with the inconsiderable loss of five killed and 
seven wounded. The accuracy of our fire had astonished the 
enemy, and carried dismay through his fleet. Eighteen shots 
went through the sides of the Galena, according to the enemy's 
own account ; and this river monster lost thirty of her crew in 
killed and wounded. Seventeen men were killed on another 
of the boats by the explosion of a gun. The boats had been 
unable to advance in the face of the accurate and deadly fire 
of our artillerists, and the next day they had dropped down 
the stream, quite satisfied of the impracticability of the water 
approach to Richmond. 

Regarding all the circumstances in which this action had 
taken place, there is no extravagance in saying, that the scale 
of the war was turned in our favor by even so small an afiair 
as that of Drewry's Bluff. It exploded the fanciful theories 
of the enemy's invincibility on the water, and went far to 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 35 

assure the safety of the now closely threatened capital of the 
Confederacy. 

But there were other causes about this time which conspired 
to renew the popular confidence in our arms, and to swell with 
gratitude and hope the hearts which had so long throbbed 
with anxiety in our besieged capital. We shall see how, for 
some time, at least, the safety of Richmond was trusted, not 
so much to the fortunes of the forces that immediately pro- 
tected it, as to the splendid diversion of the heroic Jackson in 
the Yalley of Virginia. To this famous expedition public 
attention was now turned, in the Korth as well as in the South, 
and its almost marvellous results, with marked unanimity, 
were ascribed to the zeal, heroism, and genius of its commander 
alone. 

Jackson's campaign in the valley. 

On the change of our military lines in Virginia, and the 
rapid shifting of the scene of active hostilities from the Poto- 
mac, Gen. Jackson had been assigned with a small force to 
guard the Valley of Virginia, and the approaches in that 
direction, to the armies of the enemy which enveloped Rich- 
mond. 

Our first success was obtained in the upper portion of the 
Valley. On thp morning of the 8th of May, our forces had 
approached the position of Milroy, the Yankee commander at 
McDowell. The brigade of General Johnson had secured an 
advantageous position on a ^ hill, and the enemy, fearful of 
being surrounded, decided at last, after some signs of hesita- 
tion, to deliver battle. The action was not joined until about 
two hours of sunset. The fact was, that we engaged the enemy 
with not more than one-third of his own numbers, which were 
about twelve thousand. But the contest was easily decided 
by the brave troops of Johnson's brigade, composed of Vir- 
ginia volunteers, with the 12th Georgia regiment. They had 
stood for nearly two hours, receiving with composed courage 
the cross-fire of the enemy's artillery; and then, as the sun 
was sinking, they made the charge decisive of the day, and 
drove the enemy in consternation and utter rout from the field. 

Our loss in this action was considerable. Of three hundred 
and fifty killed and wounded, nearly two-thirds were Georgians. 



36 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

The troops of this State on other occasions tlian this had left 
monuments of their conrage in the mountains of Virginia. 
The loss of the enemy at McDowell exceeded that of the Con- 
federates, and was conjectured to be double our own. 

It was probably at the suggestion of his own judgment, and 
at the instance of his own military instincts, that Gen. Jackson 
determined to act on the aggressive, and to essay the extraor- 
dinary task of driving the Yankees from the Yalley. In pur- 
suance of this determination, his resolution was quickly taken 
to make a dash at Fremont's advance, west of Staunton, and 
then to turn upon Banks with the adventurous purpose of 
driving him into Maryland. 

Gen. Banks, one of the military pets of the more truculent 
party of the abolitionists, had entered Yirginia with the airs 
of a conqueror. As early as the 24th of April he had tele- 
graphed to his government the story of uninterrupted and 
triumphant progress ; he announced that he had " advanced 
near Harrisonburg ;" and, with a characteristic flourish, he 
added : " The rebel Jackson has abandoned the Yalley of Yir- 
ginia permanently, and is en route for Gordousville by the way 
of the mountains," 

The first intimation the obtuse Yankee general had of his 
mistake was the astounding news that reached him on the 
evening of May 23d, that the "rebel Jackson" had descended 
on the guard at Front Royal, Col. Kenly,. 1st Maryland regi- 
ment, commanding, 'burned the bridges, driven the Federal 
troops towards Strasburg with great loss, captured a section of 
artillery, and taken about fourteen hundred prisoners. 

It was now Banks's turn to betake himself to flight, or, in 
the official circumlocution of that commander, " to enter the 
lists with the enemy in a race or a battle, as he should choose, 
for the possession of Winchester, the key of the Yalley." But 
he was not destined to reach his promised haven of security 
without disaster. 

On the day following the sudden apparition of Jackson at 
Front Royal, the untiring commander had by a rapid move- 
ment succeeded in piercing Banks's main column while retreat- 
ing from Strasburg to Winchester ; the rear, including a body 
of the celebrated Zouaves d'Afrique, retreating towards Stras- 
burg. 



THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 37 

Tbe Yankee general reached Winchester only to find fresh 
causes of alarm. The people of that ancient town, already- 
sure of their deliverance, received the Yankees with shouts of 
derision and defiant cheers for Jackson. Some Confederate 
officers came into the enemy's camp with entire unconcern, 
supposing that their own troops occupied the town as a matter 
of course, and when captured gave the Yankees the delightful 
assurance that an attack would be made by the terrible Jackson 
at daybreak. 

On the 25th of May, Gen. Jackson gave the crowning stroke 
to the rapid movements of the past two days by attacking 
Winchester and driving out the cowardly enemy almost without 
resistance. Gen. Banks speaks of his retreat with a shameless- 
ness that is at once simple and refreshing. He says, " Pursuit 
by the enemy was prompt and vigorous ; but our movements 
were rapid ;" and he writes to the authorities at Washington 
of his crossing of the Potomac : " There never were more 
grateful hearts in the same number of men than when at mid- 
day on the 30th of May, we stood on the opposite shore." He 
had escaped with the loss of all the material and paraphernalia 
that constitute an army. He had abandoned at Winchester 
all his commissary and ordnance stores. He had resigned 
that town and Front Koyal to the undisputed possession of the 
Confederates. He had left in their hands four thousand 
prisoners, and stores amounting to millions of dollars. And 
all these prizes had been obtained by the Confederates in the 
brief period of a few days, and with a loss not exceeding one 
hundred in killed and wounded. 

When General Jackson fell back from Winchester, after 
routing Banks, he managed, with great address, boldness, and 
energy, to carry ofi" his prisoners and spoils, and to bring ofi" 
his army between the converging columns of Fremont, who 
approached his rear from the west, with eight brigades, and 
Shields, who approached from the east, with four brigades. 
If these brigades averaged twenty -five hundred men, the force 
of Fremont was twenty thousand and that of Shields ten 
thousand men. At Harrisonburg, Jackson left the main turn- 
pike-road of the Valley and marched towards Port Republic, 
the distance between these two places being about twelve miles. 
Port Republic is situated at the junction of South river, flow- 



38 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

ing north, and North river, flowing east, Jackson could retire 
no further without crossing North river, which was swollen, 
and there was then no bridge over it except at Port Republic. 
The two rivers uniting at that village form the Shenandoah, 
which flows north, and which could not then be crossed by an 
army. On the east side of that stream was the army of Shields, 
and on the west side were the armies of Fremont and Jackson. 
The latter halted near North river without crossing it, and, 
while in that position, his rear was approached and attacked 
by Fremont's whole army, on the morning of Sunday, the 8th 
of June, and, at the same time. Shields' force approached on 
the east side of the Shenandoah near Port Republic. 

That part of Jackson's army which engaged Fremont on 
Sunday was commanded by General Ewell, while the rest of 
the army under General Jackson held Shields in check with 
artillery firing across the Shenandoah near Port Republic. 
The battle of Sunday took place about five miles from that 
village in the direction of Harrisonburg. 

It began early in the morning and lasted all day, with occa- 
sional intervals. It was mainly an artillery fight, but now and 
then, here and there, the infantry became hotly engaged. 
The force under Fremont was much larger than that under 
Ewell, but the latter was strongly posted on eminences which 
favored the efi'ectiveness of artillery, and sheltered the infantry, 
while the enemy could only approacli through open fields. 
Ewell's command was handled with remarkable skill, while 
Fremont's generalship was indifi'erent. Ewell's artillery was 
served with admirable precision and effect, and his infantry, 
whenever engaged, displayed great steadiness and gallantry. 
The result was, that when night put an end to the contest, 
Fremont had been driven back between one and two miles, with 
a loss, in killed and wounded, of not less than two thousand, 
and probably much larger, while our loss did not exceed three 
hundred, and probably not two hundred. The judicious selec- 
tion of a position in which to receive the enemy favored this 
result, but it was largely due to the superior fighting qualities 
of our men. 

Soon after nightfall. General Jackson began to withdraw 
his men from this battle-field, and pass them over North river 
by the bridge at Port Republic, with a view to attack Shields 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 39 

the next morning. He left in front of Fremont a small force 
to amuse and detain him, and, after retiring before him to Port 
Republic, to burn the bridge behind him, and thus to prevent 
Fremont from rendering any aid to Shields. All this was ac- 
complished. 

On Monday morning, Jackson passed the greater part of 
liis aiHny across the South river (the smallest of the streams) 
by means of a bridge made of planks laid on wagons placed 
in the river. Early in the morning a sufficient number had 
crossed to commence the battle, and they were led to the field 
between one and two miles distant, on the east bank of the 
Shenandoah. The enemy's force was found drawn up await- 
ing the attack. 

The enemy's line extended from the river about half a mile 
across a flat bottom, free from timber, and covered with wheat, 
grass, &c. His left rested on the point of a low ridge coming 
out from the woods which skirt the bottpm. On a slight ele- 
vation there and in some small knolls in the bottom, he ha'd his 
artillery commanding the road and the wide uncovered level 
plain, over which Jackson's army was obliged to advance. The 
level and exposed ground offered scarcely any suitable position 
for planting our artillery. The advantage of position belonged 
altogether to the enemy. The capital fault of his disposition 
for battle was that the battery on his extreme left was posted 
near the woods without any infantry in the woods to defend it. 
By availing himself of this circumstance, and by a brilliant 
manoeuvre and charge, Jackson turned the fortune of the day 
at a critical moment. 

For some two hours the battle raged with great fury. Our 
infantry, at first but few, advanced with marvellous intrepidity 
in the faee of a withering fire of artillery and musketry. At 
one moment the enemy advanced a section of a battery several 
hundred yards, so as to enfilade our left wing, which already 
suffered terribly H'om the fire in front. It seemed that nothing 
could withstand the fury of the enemy's fire of all arms. His 
artillery was very fine, and was served with great effect by 
regulars. But other troops coming at double quick from Port 
Eepublic, came on the field, and, at the same time, the Louisi- 
ana brigade, under Taylor, emerged from the woods on the 
enemy's left They had been sent by a considerable circuit 



40 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 

tlirongh the woods, wliich extend all along the battle-field be- 
tween the cleared ground and the neighboring mountain. By 
a slight error of direction they came out of the woods a little 
too soon, and found themselves almost in front of the battery, 
which instantly began to shower grape upon them. But, im- 
mediately rectifying their direction, they charged the battery 
with irresistible impetuosity, and carried it. The contest then 
was speedily ended. The enemy's whole line gave way and 
was presently retreating in disorder, pursued by our cavalry. 
The pursuit was kept up about ten or twelve miles, but the 
flight continued all that day and the next. About five hun- 
dred prisoners were taken that day, and others after that were 
brought in daily. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded 
was heavy, and so was our own. Six splendid cannon were 
captured on the field, another was taken in the pursuit, and 
still another had been captured on Sunday. The force of the 
enemy engaged was about six or seven thousand, and ours a 
little larger. Shields was not present, but his troops were com- 
manded by Gen. Tyler. 

After the rout of the enemy had commenced, the last of our 
troops crossed over the bridge at Port Republic and burnt it. 
Fremont, cautiously following, appeared some time afterwards, 
and drew up his army in line of battle on the heights along 
the west bank of the Shenandoah, from which he overlooked 
the field of battle. While he stood there in impotent idleness, 
Jackson's army, having finally disposed of Shields, moved off 
at leisure to Brown's Gap, and there encamped, to rest for a 
few days from the fatigues of a month's campaign more ardu- 
ous and more successful than any month's operations of the 
war. The exhaustion of our men and the interposition of a 
river, no longer bridged, secured Fremont from a second bat- 
tle or a hasty flight. The next day he commenced his retreat 
down the Valley. 

Tliis famous campaign must, indeed, take* rank in the his- 
tory of the war, unrivalled by any other in the rapidity of its 
movements and in the brilliancy of the results accomplished, 
compared with the means at its command. Its hei-oic deeds 
revived the hopes of the South, and threw the splendor of sun- 
light over the long lines of the Confederate host. By a series 
of rapid movements, which occupied but a few weeks, General 



THE SECOND TEAE OF THE WAR, 41 

Jackson had, with inferior numbers, defeated successively four 
generals, with as many armies, swept the Valley of Virginia of 
hostile forces, made the Federal authorities tremble in their 
capital, and frustrated the combinations by which the enemy 
had purposed to aid General McClellan and environ Richmond 
by large converging armies. 

Our loss of life in this campaign was inconsiderable in num- 
bers ; but on the black list of killed, there was one name con- 
spicuous throughout the Confederacy, and especially dear to 
Virginians. Colonel Turner Ashby, whose name was linked 
with so much of the romance of the war, and whose gentle and 
enthusiastic courage and knightly bearing had called to mind 
the recollections of chivalry, and adorned Virginia with a new 
chaplet of fame, had, on the 5th of June, fallen in a skirmish 
near Harrisburg. 

" The last time I saw Ashby," writes a noble comrade in 
arms. Colonel Bradley T. Johnson of the Maryland Line, " he 
was riding at the head of the column with General Ewell — his 
black face in a blaze of enthusiasm. Every feature beamed 
with the joy of the soldier. He was gesticulating and pointing 
out' the country and positions to General Ewell. I could im- 
agine what he was saying by the motions of his right arm. I 
pointed him out to my adjutant. '.Look a' Ashby ; see how he 
is enjoying himself.' " 

A few hours later, and the brave Virginian, so full of life, 
was a corpse. Our men had fallen upon a body of the enemy 
concealed in a piece of woods and under the cover of a fence. 
Ashby was on the right of the 58th Virginia. He implored 
the men to stop their fire, which was inefi'ectual, and to charge 
the enemy. They were too much excited to heed him, and 
turning towards the enemy he waved his hand — " Virginians, 
charge !" In a second his horse fell. He was on his feet in an 
instant. " Men," he cried, " cease tiring — charge, for God's 
sake, charge !" The next instant he fell dead — not twenty 
yards from the concealed marksman who had killed him. 

To the sketch we have briefly given of this campaign, it is 
just to add one word of reflection. It had been frequently and 
very unwarrantably asserted that the people of what was once 
the garden spot of the South, the Shenandoah Valley, were 
favorably inclined to the Union cause, and that many of them 



42 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAS. 

had shown a very decided spirit of disloyalty to the Confed-- 
erate authority. The best refutation of tliis slander is to be 
found in the enemy's own accounts of his experiences in that 
region. 

The fact is, that the people of this Valley had suffered to a 
most extraordinary degree the fiery trials and ravages of war. 
Their country had been bandied about from the possession of 
the Confederates to that of the Yankees, and then back again, 
until it had been stripped of every thing by needy friends on 
the one side, and unscrupulous invaders on the other. Some 
portions of the country were actually overrun by three armies 
in two weeks. In such circumstances there were, no doubt, 
expressions of discontent, which had been hastily misinter- 
preted as disloyal demonstrations ; but, despite these, there is 
just reason to believe that a spirit of patriotism and integrity 
abided in the Yalley of Yirginia, and that it had been main- 
tained under trials and chastisements much greater than those 
which had befallen other parts of the Confederacy. 



MEMOIR OF TURNER ASHBY. 

The writer had proposed a record in another and more ex- 
tensive form of the principal events of the life of Turner 
Ashby ; but the disappointment of assistance to sources of 
information from persons who had represented themselves as 
the friends of the deceased, and from whom the writer had 
reason to expect willing and warm co-operation, has com- 
pelled him to defer the execution of his original and cherished 
purpose of giving to the public a worthy biography of one 
whose name is a source of immortal pride to the South, and an 
enduring ornament to the chivalry of Yirginia. But the few 
incidents roughly thrown together here may have a certain 
interest. They give the key to the character of one of the 
most remarkable men of the war ; they afford an example to 
be emulated by our soldiers ; they represent a type of courage 
peculiarly Southern in its aspects ; and they add an unfading 
leaf to the chaplet of glory which Yirginia has gathered on 
the blood-stained fields of the war. 

It is not improper here to state the weight and significance 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 43 

given to the present revolution by the secession of Virginia. 
It takes time for revolutions to acquire their meaning and 
proper significance. That which was commenced by the Cot- 
ton States of the South, attained its growth, developed its 
purpose, and became instantly and thorouglily in earnest at 
the period when the second secessionary movefnent^ inaugurated 
by Virginia, confronted the powers at Washington with its 
sublime spectacles. 

Virginia did not secede in either the circumstances or sense in 
which the Cotton States had separated themselves from the 
Union. She did not leave the Union with delusive prospects of 
peace to comfort or sustain her. She did not secede in the sense 
in which separation from the Union was the primary object of 
secession. Her act of secession was suboi*dinate ; she was called 
upon to oppose a practical and overt usurpation on the part of 
the Government at "Washington in drawing its sword against the 
sovereignty of States and insisting on the right of coercion ; to 
contest this her separation from the Union was necessary, and 
became a painful formality which could not be dispensed with. 

A just and philosophical observation of events must find tliat 
in this second secessionary movement of the Southern States, 
the revolution was put on a basis infinitely higher and firmer 
in rfll its moral and constitutional aspects ; that at this period 
it developed itself, acquired its proper significance, and was 
broadly translated into a war of liberty. The movement of 
Virginia had more than any thing else added to the moral 
influences of the revolution and perfected its justification in the 
eyes of the world. It was plain that she had not seceded on 
an issue of policy, but one of distinct and practical constitu- 
tional right, and that, too, in the face of a war which frowned 
upon her own borders, and which necessarily was to make her 
soil the principal theatre of its ravages and woes. Her attach- 
ment to the Union had been proved by the most untiring and 
noble efforts to save it ; her Legislature originated the Peace 
Conference, which assembled at Washington in February, 
1861; her representatives in Congress sought in that body 
every mode of honorable pacification ; her Convention sent 
delegates to Washington to persuade Mr. Lincoln to a pacific 
policy ; and in every form of public assembly, every expedient 
of negotiation was essayed to save the- Union. When these 



44: . THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

efforts at pacification, which Yirginia had made with an unsel- 
fishness without parallel, and with a nobility of spirit that 
scorned any misrepresentation of her office, proved abortive, 
she did not hesitate to draw her sword in front of the enemy, 
and to devote all she possessed and loved and hoped for to the 
fortunes of the war. It is not necessary to recount at length the 
services of this ancient Commonwealth in the war for Southern 
independence. She furnished nearly all of the arms, ammuni- 
tion, and accoutrements that won the early battles ; she gave 
the Confederate service, from her own armories and stores, 
seventy-five thousand rifles and muskets, nearly three hundred 
pieces of artillery, and a magnificent armory, containing all 
the machinery necessary for manufacturing arms on a large 
scale ; and on every occasion she replied to the call for troops, 
until she drained her arms-bearing population to the dregs. 

It is a circumstance of most honorable remark, that such has 
been the conduct of Virginia in this war, that even from the 
base and vindictive enemy tributes have been forced to the de- 
voted courage and heroic qualities of her sons. The following 
extraordinary tribute from the Washington HepuhltGan, the 
organ of abolition at the Yankee capital, is a compliment more 
expressive than any thing a Virginian could say for his own 
State and its present generation of heroes. 

" If there has been any decadence of the manly virtues in 
the Old Dominion, it is not because the present generation has 
proved itself either weak or cowardly or unequal to the greatest 
emergencies. No people, with so few numbers, ever put into 
the field, and kept there so long, troops more num.erous, brave, 
or more efficient, or produced generals of more merit, in all the 
kinds and grades of military talent. It is not a worn-out, effete 
race which has produced Lee, Johnston, Jackson, Ashby, and 
Stuart. It is not a worn-out and effete race, which, for two 
years, has defended its capital against the approach of ^n en- 
emy close upon their borders, and outnumbering them thirty 
to one. It is not a worn-out and effete race which has pre- 
served substantial popular unity under all the straits and 
pressure and sacrifices of this unprecedented war. ' Let his- 
tory,' as was said of another race, ' which records their unhappy 
fate as a people, do justice to their rude virtues as men.' They 
are fighting madly in a bad cause, but they are fighting bravely. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 45 

They liave few cowards and no traitors. The hardships of war 
are endured without a murmur by all classes, and the dangers 
of war without flinching, by the newest conscripts ; while their 
gentry, the offshoot of their popular social system, have thrown 
themselves into the camp and field with all the dash and high 
spirit of the -European noblesse of the middle ages, risking, 
without apparent concern, upon a desperate adventure, all that 
men value ; and after a generation of peace and repose and 
security, which had not emasculated them, presenting^to their 
enemies a trained and intrepid front, as of men born and bred 
to war." 

What has been said here of Yirginia and her characteristics 
in the present revolution, is the natural and just preface to 
what we have to say of the man who, more than any one else 
in this war, illustrated the chivalry of the Commonwealth and 
the virtues of her gentry. Turner Ashby was a thorough Yir- 
ginian. He was an ardent lover of the old Union. He was 
brought up in that conservative and respectable school of poli- 
tics which hesitated long to sacrifice a Union which had been, 
in part, constructed by the most illustrious of the sons of 
Virginia ; which had conferred many honors upon her ; and 
which was the subject of many hopes in the future. But when 
it became evident that the life of the Union was gone, and the 
sword was drawn for constitutional liberty, the spirit of Yir- 
ginia was again illustrated by Ashby, who showed a devotion 
in the field even more admirable than the virtue of political 
principles. 

Turner Ashby was the second son of the late Colonel Turner 
Ashby, of " Kose Bank," Fauquier county, and Dorothea F. 
Green, the daughter of the late James Green, Sr., of Kappa- 
hannock county. Colonel Ashby, at his death, left three sons 
and three daughters — the eldest of whom did not exceed twelve 
years of age at the time of his death — to the sole care of their 
devoted mother. To her excellent' sense, generous disposition, 
and noble character, the Confederacy is indebted for two as 
noble and gallant men as have won soldiers' graves during 
this war. 

The father of Turner Ashby was the sixth son, that reached 
manhood, of Captain Jack Ashby, a man of mark in the day 
in which he lived, and of whom many anecdotes are still 



46 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

extant, illustrative of his remarkable character. One of these 
belongs to the colonial times, and is interesting : 

" When the news of the disastrous defeat and death of 
General Braddock reached Fort Loudoun (now Winchester, 
Virginia), John Ashby was there, and his celebrity as a horse- 
man induced the British commandant of the post to secure 
his services as bearer of dispatches to the vice-royal governor 
at Williamsburg. Ashby at once proceeded on his mission, 
and in «,n incredibly short time presented himself before the 
commander at Fort Loudoun. This ofticial, of choleric dispo- 
sition, upon the appearance of Ashby, broke out in severe 
reproach for his delay in proceeding on his mission, and was 
finally struck dumb with astonishment at the presentation of 
the governor's reply to the dispatch ! The ride is said to have 
been accomplished in the shortest possible time, and the fact 
is certified in the records of Frederick county court.'' 

Upon the breaking out of the Revolution of 1776, Captain 
Jack Ashby raised a company in his neighborhood in the 
upper part of Fauquier. It was attached to the third Virginia 
regiment, under* command of General Marshall. He was in 
the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and several other of 
the most desperately contested fields of the Revolution. From 
exposure and hardships endured upon the frontiers of Canada, 
he contracted disease, from which he was never entirely relieved 
to the day of his death. He continued in the service during 
the whole period of the Revolution, and after the proclama- 
tion of peace, quietly settled upon his beautiful farm not far 
from Markham station, upon the Manassas Gap railroad. 
Four of his sons, John, Samuel, Nimrod, and Thomson, served 
in the war of 1812. 

The father of our hero died, as we have stated, leaving a 
family of children of tender age. Young Turner was put to 
school, where it does not appear that he showed any peculiar 
trait in his studies ; but he was remarkable among his young 
associates for his sedate manners, his grave regard for truth, 
and his appreciation of points of honor. 

Turner Ashby never had the advantages of a college educa- 
tion, but he had a good, healthy mind ; he was an attentive 
student of human nature, and a convenient listener where 
information was to be gained ; and he possessed those ordinary 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 47 

stores of knowledge which may be acquired by a moderate use of 
books and an attentive intercourse with men. He was engaged 
for some time in merchandise at Markham's Depot. The old 
homestead of his father still stands near there, and not far from 
the homestead of the Marshalls. The tastes of Ashby were 
too domestic for politics. He was at one time Whig candidate 
for the Virginia Legislature from Fauquier, but w^as defeated 
by a small majority. This Avas his only public appearance in 
any political strife, and but little else is known of him as a 
politician beyond his ardent admiration of and personal attach- 
ment to Robert E. Scott. 

Ashby's attachment to domestic life was enlivened by an 
extreme fondness for manly pastimes. He was a horseman 
from very childhood, and had the greatest passion for eques- 
trian exercises. His delight in physical excitements was 
singularly pure and virtuous ; he shunned the dissipations 
fashionable among young men, and while so sober and steady 
in his habits as sometimes to be a joke among his companions, 
yet he was the foremost in all innocent sports, the first to get up 
tournaments and fox-chases, and almost always the successful 
competitor in all manly games. His favorite horse was trained 
for tournaments and fox-hunting, and it is said to have been a 
common pastime of Ashby to take him into the meadow and 
jump him over hay -cocks and stone fences. Some of his feats 
of horsemanship are memorable, and ^re constantly related in 
his neighborhood. While at Fauquier Springs, which he fre- 
quently visited, and where he got up tournaments after the 
fashion of the ancient chivalry, he once displayed his horse- 
manship by riding into the ball-room, up and down steep 
flights of steps, to the mingled terror and admiration of the 
guests. No cavalier was more graceful. The reserve of his 
manner was thrown aside in such sports, and his black eyes 
and dark face were lighted up with the zeal of competition or 
the excitement of danger. 

The gravity so perceptible at times in Ashby's manner was 
not the sign of a melancholy or blank mind. He was too prac- 
tical for reveries ; he was rather a man of deep feelings. 
While he scorned the vulgar and shallow ambition that seeks 
for notoriety, he probably had that ideal and aspiration which 
silent men often have, and which, if called " ambition" at all, 



48 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 

is to be characterized as the noble and spiritual ambition that 
wins the honors of history, while others contend for the baubles 
of the populace. 

" He was," writes a ladj of his neighborhood, " a person of 
ver}' deep feelinc^s, which would not have been apparent to 
strangers, from his natural reserv.e of manner ; but there was 
no act of friendship or kindness he would have shrunk to per- 
form, if called on. While he was not a professor of religion, 
there was always a peculiar regard for the precepts of the 
Bible, which showed itself in his irreproachable walk in life. 
Often have I known him to open the Sabbath school at the re- 
quest of his lady friends, in a little church near his home, bj 
reading a prayer and a chapter in the Bible. Turner Asliby 
seldom left his native neighborhood, so strong were his local 
attacliments, and would not have done so, save at his country's 
call." 

That call was sounded sooner than Ashby expected. At the 
first prelude to the bloody drama of the war — the John Brown 
raid — he had been conspicuous, and his company of horse, 
then called " The Mountain Rangers," did service on that oc- 
casion. He appeared to have felt and known the consequences 
which were to ensue from this frightful crusade. Thencefor- 
ward his physical and intellectual powers were directed to the 
coming struggle. On the occasion of the irruption of John 
Brown and his felon band at Harper's Ferry, he remarked to 
Mr. Boteler, the member of Congress from that district, that a 
crisis was approaching, and that the South would be continu- 
ally subject to such inroads and insults, unless some prevention 
was quickly effected. He continued, however, a strong Union 
man until the election of Lincoln : he was anxious that har- 
mony should be effected between the States, and the legacies 
of the past should be preserved in a constitutional and frater- 
nal Union; but this hope was instantly dispelled by the result 
of the election ; and as soon as it was announced, he went 
quietly and energetically to work, drilling his men, promoting 
their efficiency, and preparing for that great trial of arms 
which he saw rapidly approaching. 

The next time that Mr. Boteler met Ashby at Harper's Ferry, 
was on the night of the 17th of April, 1861. Mr. Boteler took 
him aside, and said to him, " What flag are we going to fight 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. » 49 

under — the Palmetto, or what?" Asliby lifted liis hat, and 
within it was laid a Virginia flag. He had had it painted at 
midnight, before he left Richmond. " Here," said he, " is the 
flag I intend to fight under." That night the flag was run up 
by the light of the burning buildings fired bj the Yankees, 
and the next morning the glorious emblem of the Old Domin- 
ion was seen floating from the Federal flag-staff" — the first 
ensign of liberty raised by Yirginia in this war. 

It was not long after the arrival of Capt. Ashby at Harper's. 
Ferry, with his cavalry, that he was placed in command at 
Point of Rocks, by Gen. Johnston, supported by Capt. R. 
Welby Carter's company of cavalry and Capt. John Q. Win- 
field's infantry corps of " Brock's Gap Rifiemen." 

About the same time Col. Angus W. McDonald, senior, of 
Winchester, Yirginia, was commissioned to raise a legion of 
mounted men for border service, the lieutenant-colonelcy of 
which was at once tendered to Capt. Ashby. Without final 
acceptance of this position, he, with his command, entered the 
legion, the organization of which was soon accomplished. 

The original captains were Ashby, Winfield, S. W, Myers, 
Mason, Shands, Jordan, Miller, Harper, and Sheetz. 

This force was assembled at Romney, Hampshire county, very 
soon after the evacuation of Harper's Ferry by Gen. Johnston. 

The difficulty which existed as to Capt. Ashby's acceptance 
of the lieutenant-colonelcy of the legion, consisted in the fact 
that he felt under special obligations to his company, who were 
unwilling to dispense with his personal command. The arrival 
of his brother, Richard Ashby, from Texas, who joined the 
company as an independent volunteer, appeared to open the 
way of relieving this difficulty, as the company was prepared 
to accept in him a captain, in order to secure the promotion of 
their beloved leader. 

But a melancholy providence was to occur at this time, 
which was to color the life of Turner Ashby, and afifect it more 
deeply than any thing he had yet experienced. The county 
of Hampshire had already been invaded by the enemy, and 
Colonel, now Major-general, A. P. Hill had already visited the 
county with several regiments of infantry, in order to repel the 
invader. This county was also chosen for the labor of the 
mounted legion. 

4 



50 * THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

It was shortly after the organization of the command, and 
its active duty entered npon, that Capt. Asliby led a detach- 
ment to Green Spring station, on the Baltimore and Ohio rail- 
road, for the purpose of observation. He had with him eleven 
men, and his brother Richard led another small band of six. 
The latter was proceeding along the railroad westward, in the 
direction of Cumberland — some ten miles away — when he was 
ambuscaded at the mouth of a ravine just beside the railroad 
■^there, running just between the river bank and the steep moun- 
tain side. The enemy's force consisted of about eighteen men, 
commanded by Corporal Hays, of the Indiana Zouave regi- 
ment, which was stationed at Cumberland. His men, at 
length compelled to fall back before superior numbers, hasten- 
ed down the railroad to rejoin Turner Ashby. Covering their 
retreat himself, he hastened to the rescue of one of his men, 
severely wounded in the face by a sabre stroke, and in a hand 
to hand fight with Corporal Hays, severely wounded him in 
the head with his sabre. Following immediately his retreating 
companions, the horse which he rode proved false, and fell into 
a cattle-stop of the railroad with his unfortunate rider. He 
was overtaken, beaten, bruised, wounded, and left for dead. 
He was removed many hours afterwards, and lived for several 
days, enjoying every kind attention, but his wouuds proved 
mortal. He was buried in the beautiful Indian Mound Ceme- 
tery at Romney, on the 4th of July, 1861. 

During the engagement of his brother. Turner Ashby started 
up the railroad to his rescue ; but in passing along the river's 
brink, his force was fired upon from Kelly's Island, on the 
north branch of the Potomac, about twelve miles east of Cum- 
berland. The island lies some sixty feet from the Yirginia 
bank, which is precipitous, and directly laid with the railroad 
track. On the other side of the island, which was reached 
through water to the saddle girth, there is a gently rising 
beach, some thirty yards to the interior, which is thickly 
wooded, and contains a dense undergrowth. Here in ambush 
lay, as was afterwards reported, about forty of the Indiana 
troops, and about sixty of Merley's branch riflemen — Maryland 
Union men of the vicinity — woodmen, skilled with the rifle, 
and many of them desperate characters. After receiving the 
enemy's fire. Turner Ashby and his eleven at once charged, 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 51 

and after a sharp engagement, routed and dispersed their forces. 
It has been declared that not less than forty shots were lired at 
Ashby on that occasion, but not he nor his horse were harmed, 
and at least five of the enemy were probably slain by his 
hand. 

From the date of his brother's death, a change passed over 
the life of Turner Ashby. He always wore a sad smile after 
that unhappy day, and his life became more solemn and earn- 
est to the end of his own evanescent and splendid career* 
" Ashby," said a lady friend, speaking of him after this period, 
" is now a devoted man.'''' His behavior at his brother's arrave, 
as it is described by one of the mourners at the same spot, was 
most touching. He stood over the grave, took his brother's 
sword, broke it and threw it into the opening; clasped his 
hands and looked upward as if in resignation ; and then press- 
ing his lips, as if in the bitterness of grief, while a tear rolled 
down his cheek, he turned without a word, mounted his horse 
and rode away. Thenceforth his name was a terror to the 
enemy. 

Shortly after the death of his brother, his com2:)any consented 
to yield him up in order that he might accept the lieutenant- 
colonelcy of the Legion, and elected First Lieut. William Tur- 
ner (his cousin) captain in his stead. The Legion, numbering 
at that time nearly nine hundred effective men tolerably 
equipped and mounted, continued on duty in Hampshire until 
the 16th of July, 1861, when it started for Manassas, but did 
not arrive until after the battle. The command was immedi- 
ately afterwards ordered to Staunton to join Gen. Lee's forces — 
subsequently to Hollingsworth, one mile south of "Winchester. 
In the mean time. Col. Ashby, with several companies, was sent 
on detached duty to Jefferson, into which county the enemy 
was making frequent incursions from Harper's Ferry and 
Maryland. 

In Jefferson, Ashby had command of four companies of 
cavalry and about eight hundred militia. Yankee raids were 
kept from the doors of the inhabitants, and the enemy made 
but little appearance in this portion of Yirginia, until Banks 
crossed the Potomac in February, 1862. 

It was about this time that Ashby's cavalry acquired its 
great renown. The Lincoln soldiers dreaded nothing so much 



62 THE SECONn YEAR OF THE WAR. 

as they did these hated troopers. Go where they would, out 
of sight of their encampments, they were ahuost sure to meet 
some of Ashhy's cavahy, who seemed to possess the power of 
ubiquity. And, in truth, they liad good cause both to hate 
and to fear Ashby's cavalry ; for many a Federal horseman 
dropped from his saddle, and many a Federal soldier on foot 
dropped in his tracks, at the crack of Confederate rifles in the 
hands of Ashby's fearless sharpshooters. 

During the time of the encampment at Flowing Springs, 
Col. Ashby rarely ever came into town, which was about a 
mile and a half distant. Nothing could seduce him from liis 
duties ; no admiration, no dinner parties or collations, could 
move him to leave his camp. He always slept with his men. 
l^o matter what hour of the night he was aroused, he was 
always wakeful, self-possessed, and ready to do battle. He was 
idolized by his men, whom he treated as companions, and 
indulged without- reference to rules of military discipline. He 
had great contempt for the military arts, was probably incapa- 
ble of drilling a regiment, and preserved among his men scarce- 
ly any thing more than the rude discipline of camp-hunters. 
But though not a stickler for military rules, he would have no 
coward or eye-soldier in his command. If a man was dissatis- 
fied, he at once started him off home. He allowed his men 
many liberties. A gentleman asked him one day where his 
men were. " Well," said he, " the boys fought very well yes- 
terday, and there are not more than thirty of them here to-day." 

Ashby's influence over his men was principally dne to the 
brilliant and amazing examples of personal courage which he 
always gave them in front of the battle. His men could never 
find him idle. In battle his eye kindled up most gloriously. 
He wore a gray coat and pants, with boots and sash ; he always 
looked like work, was frequently covered with mud, and ap- 
peared to be never fatigued or dejected. He would come and 
go like a dream. He would be heard of at one time in one 
part of the country, and then, when least expected, would come 
dashing by on the famous white horse, which was his pride. 

When the fight occurred at Boteler's Mill, the militia were 
for the first time under fire. The enemy had encamped on the 
other side of .the Potomac, opposite the mill. Our troops qui- 
etly crept upon them, and planted two pieces of cannon within 



THE SECOND TEAE OF THE WAK. 53 

range, and let drive at tlieni with terrible effect, whereupon 
thej fled. They afterwards returned in force, and ranged 
themselves on the other side with long-range guns. Ashby, 
to encourage the militia, who were raw, advanced to the bank 
o^the river, and rode his white horse up and down within 
pomt-blfjtnk range of the enemy's fire. When the balls were 
hurtling thickest, he would rein in his horse and stand perfectly 
still, the very picture of daring and chivalry. 

At Bolivar Heights, when the enemy were firing upon our 
men and had shot down the gunners at the cannon, he sprang 
from his horse and seized the rammer himself. He was con- 
spicuous in action at every point. His friends used to implore 
him not to ride his white horse — for he had also a black one — 
but he was deaf to every caution that respected the safety of 
Lis person. 

The key to Ashby's character M^as his passion for danger. 
He craved the excitement of battle, and w*as never happier 
than when riding his noble steed in the thickest of the storm 
of battle. There are some minds which find a sweet intoxica- 
tion in danger, and Macaulay has named a remarkable instance 
in "William HI., the silent and ascetic king of England, who 
was transformed into gayety by the excitement of personal 
peril. " Danger," says the historian, " acted upon him like 
wine ;" it made him full of animation and speech. Ashby's 
delight in danger was a royal one. It came from no brutal 
hardihood or animal spirits ; and the Yirginia cavalier is thus 
so 'far superior to other famous partisans in this war, that he 
united with the adventurousness of courage the courtesies of 
a gentleman and Christian, and the refinements of a pure and 
gentle soul. He was never rude ; he was insensible to the hu- 
mors of the vulgar ; and he never even threw into the face of his 
enemy a coarse taunt or a specimen of that wit common in the 
army." 

Turner Ashby was doubtless as perfect a specimen of modern 
chivalry as the South even has ever produced. His brilliant 
daring, his extreme courtesy to woman, his devotion to the 
horse, his open-hearted manner, and his scorn of mean actions, 
are qualities as admirable now as in the days of Froissart's 
Chronicles. After the battle of Winchester, the Yankee 
women and families of officers sometimes came to Ashby to 



64 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 

get passes. They were surprised to find with what readiness 
permits were granted. They would say, " Colonel Ashby, you 
may search our baggage. We assure you we are carrying 
away nothing which we are not at liberty to do." His reply 
was, " I have no right to look into ladies' baggage, or to ex- 
amine their trunks. Southern gentlemen do no such thing." 
They said, " Colonel, you may search our persons, and see if 
we carry away any thing contraband." The reply was, " Vir- 
ginia gentlemen do not search the persons of ladies." 

Few young men of Ashby 's age could have resisted the in- 
toxication of praise heaped upon him from every quarter. The 
fact was, no aged and stern devotee to duty was ever more in- 
sensible, in the performance of his task, to the currents of popu- 
lar favor than the young Paladin of the South. The following 
copy of a letter, written at the height of his reputation to an 
elderly gentleman of Stafford county, illustrates the modesty 
which adorned the life of Turner Ashby, and the sense of duty 
which insured its most brilliant successes : 

"My deak Sir : I have just received your exceedingly kind 
and most flattering letter. Let me assure you that it gives me 
no little pleasure to know that my course, while doing my duty 
to my country, meets your approval, whose age and experience 
make it more to be estimated. That I have not sought self- 
aggrandizement, or regarded any thing save what I believed 
to be my duty to my country in this war, I hope it is needless 
to assure you. When my course meets with the approval of 
the old patriots, I feel doubly satisfied that I have not mistaken 
what I believe to be my duty. What you are pleased to say 
of my brother (who fell as I, too, expect to fall, if my country 
needs it) is but too true. Had he been spared longer, he would 
doubtless have been of great value to our country. His fall, 
however, has not been without its lesson to the enemy, teach- 
ino- them that Virginians know how to die as well as fight for 
their liberty. He died without a regret, feeling that his life 
was due to his country's cause. Please present me most kindly 
to all my friends in Stafford, and accept my highest respects 

for yourself. 

" Your obedient servant, 

"Turner Ashby." 



THE SECOi^D YEAR OF THE WAR. 55 

We have already referred in the pages of this history to 
Ashby's share in the several glorious campaigns of Jackson 
in the Valley ; to his participation in the battle of Kernstown ; 
to his famous adventure with the Yankee pickets at the bridge,' 
and to some other of his daring exploits on the front and flanks 
of the enemy. It was on the occasion of the battle of Kerus- 
town that his energy was exercised to an extraordinary degree 
in protecting the retreat and annoying the skirts of the enemy. 
In thirty-eight, out of forty-two days after this battle he was 
lighting the enemy, keeping him in check, or cutting off his com- 
munications. The terrible fatigues he incurred never seemed 
to depress him, or to tax his endurance. An acquaintance tes- 
tifies that it was not an infrequent feat for him to ride daily 
over a line of pickets sixty or seventy miles in extent. 

At a later period of the Yalley campaign, when Banks re- 
turned from Strasburg and our troops were chasing him. Ash- 
by would follow and charge the Yankees as the Rockbridge 
Artillery poured in their tire. At one time he was riding 
abreast of three hundred infantry, who were passing along the 
turnpike. All at once he wheeled his horse, and leaping the 
fence with drawn sword, cut his way right through them ; then 
wheeling, he did the same thing a second time, iiiding up to 
the standard-bearer, he seized it from him and dashed him to 
the earth. The terrified wretches never raised a weapon against 
him. Seventy -five of them, whom he cut off, laid down their 
arms, and sat down at his order in the corner of the fence, 
where they remained until his men came up to take care of 
them. The flag was that of a Vermont regiment. A few days 
after, Mr. Boteler asked Ashby of the exploit. He drew the 
flag from his bosom and gave it to him. It was presented by 
Mr. Boteler to the Library of the State, at Richmond, where it 
may now be seen — a testimony to one of the most brilliant 
deeds of Virginia's youthful hero. 

■A week after this adventure, Ashby was dead. But a few 
days before the termination of his brilliant career, he received 
the promotion which had been long due him from the govern- 
ment. Just before leaving Richmond, after the adjournment 
of the first session of the permanent Congress, Mr. Boteler, who 
was a member of that body, and Ashby's constant friend, went 
to the president, told him that he was going home, and asked 



56 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

that one act of justice should be done to tlie people of the 
Yalley, which they had long expected. He wislied to be able 
to cany back to his people the assurance that Ashby should be 
commissioned a brigadier-geheral. The order for the commis- 
sion was at once made out. When the announcement was made 
to Ashby, he exhibited no emotion, except that his face was 
lighted up by one of those sad smiles which had occasionally 
brightened it since the death of his brother. 

The manner of Ashby's death has already been mentioned in 
the preceding pages of the brief historical narrative of the 
Valley campaign. The writer is indebted for the particulars 
of that sad event to Colonel Bradley T. Johnson, the brave 
Maryland officer whose command was conspicuous in the affair 
that cost Ashby his life, and earned an immortal honor in re- 
venging his death. He takes the liberty of extracting from a 
letter of this officer an account of the engagement : 

" On the morning of Friday, the 6th of June," writes Colonel 
Johnson, " we left Harrisonburg, not having seen the enemy for 
two days. To our surprise, in the afternoon his cavalry made 
a dash into our rear-guard, and was whipped most effectually, 
their colonel. Sir Percy Wyndham, being taken prisoner. My 
regiment was supporting a battery a short distance behind this 
cavalry fight. In half an hour we were ordered forward — that 
is, towards the enemy retracing the march just made. Our in- 
fantry consisted only of Brigadier-general George H. Stewart's 
brigade, the 58th Virginia, 44th Virginia, two other Virginia 
regiments, and the Marj^and Line — of the lattei*, only the 1st 
Maryland was taken back ; the artillery and all the cavalry 
were left behind us. The 58th Virginia was first, my regiment 
(the 1st Maryland) next, then came the 44th and the rest. 

" A couple of miles east of Harrisonburg we left the road' 
and filed to the right, through the fields, soon changing direc- 
tion again so as to move parallel to the road. General Ewell 
soon sent for two of my companies as skirmishers. Moving 
cautiously through the darkening shades of the tangled wood 
iust as the evening twilight was brightening the trees in front 
of us in an opening, spot^ spot, spot, began a dropping fire from 
the skirmishers, and instantly the 58th Virginia poured in a 
volley. Another volley was fired. The leaves began to fall, 
and the bullets hit the trees around. General Ewell came up 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 57 

in a gallop. 'Charge, colonel, charge to the left!' And I 
charged, got to the edge of the wood, and found a heavy body 
of infantry and cavalry supporting a battery ou a hill six hun- 
dred yards in front of me. But the Yankee balls came fast 
and thick on my flank. ' The 58th are firing into us,' the lead- 
ing captain said. General Ewell and myself, the only mounted 
ofiicers, plunged after them, and found it was not their fire. I 
got back. ' Up, men, and take that hill,' pointing to my right. 
They went in with a cheer. In less than five seconds the first 
rank of the second company went down. The color-sergeant, 
Poyle, fell. The corporal who caught them from him fell. 
The next who took them fell, when Corporal Shanks, a six- 
footer, seized them, raising them over his head at arm's length. 
Captain Robertson lay dead ; Lieutenant Snowden shot to 
death; myself on the ground, my horse shot in three places. 
But still we went forward, and drove the Bucktails from the 
fence where they had been concealed " 

It was as the brave Marylanders were pressing on in this 
charge that Ashby, who was on the right of the 58th Yirginia 
exhorting them, fell by an intelligent bullet of the enemy. 
His death was quickly avenged. As our troops reached the 
fence from which the shot had been fired, the line of Yankees 
melted away like mist before a hurricane. 

" The account I have given you," writes Colonel Johnson, 
" of the manner of Ashby's death, is collated from the state- 
ments of many eye-witnesses of my skirmishing companies, who 
were all around him when he fell. I did not see it, though not 
thirty yards from him, but wSs busy with my own men ; and 
I am specific in stating the source of his death, as there is a 
loose impression that he was killed by a shot from the 68th 
Virginia. I am persuaded this is not so, fi-om the state- 
ments of two very cool ofiicers. Captain Nicholas and Lieuten- 
ant Booth, who were talking to him the minute before he 
fell " 

" Ashby was my first revolutionary acquaintance in Yirginia. 
I was with him when the first blow was struck for the cause 
we both had so much at heart, and was with him in his last 
fight, always knowing him to be beyond all modern men in 
chivalry, as he was equal to any one in courage. He combined 
the virtues of Sir Philip Sydney with the dash of Murat. 1 



58 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

contribute my mite to his fame, which will live in the Yalley 
of Virginia, outside of books, as long as its hills and mouhtains 
shall endure." 

No word escaped from Ashby's lips as he fell. It was not 
necessary. No dying legend, spoken in death's qjnbrace, cuuld 
have added to that noble life. Itself was a beautiful poem ; a 
sounding oration ; a suflficient legacy to the virtue of his coun- 
trymen. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 69 



CHAPTER II. 

The Situation of Richmond. — Its Strategic Importance. — What the Yankees had 
done to secure Kichmond. — The Battle of Seven Pines. — Miscarriage of Gen. 
Johnston's Plans. — The Battles of the Chickahomint. — Storming of the Enemy's 
Intrenchmeuts. — McCIellan driven from his Northern Line of Defences. — The 
Situation on the other Side of the Chicliahominy. — Magruder's Comment. — The 
AfRxir of Savage Station. — The Battle of Frazier's Farm.— A Terrible Cri.sLs. — Battle 
of Malvern Hill. — The Enemy in Communication with his Gunboats. — The Failure 
to cut him off. — Glory and Fruits of our Victory. — Misrepresentations of the Yan- 
kees. — Safety of Richmond. — The War in other Parts of the Confederacy. — The 
Engagement of Secessionville. — The Campaign of the West. — The Evacuation of 
Corinth. — More Yankee Falsehoods. — Capture of Memphi.s. — The Prize of the Mis- 
sissippi. — Statistics of its Navigation. — Siege of Vicksburg. — Heroism of " the Queen 
City."— Morgan's Raid into Kentucky.— The Tennessee and Virginia Frontier. — 
Prospects in the West. — Plan of Campaign there. 

Richmond is the heart of the State of Yirginia. It is hun- 
dreds of miles from the sea, yet with water communicatiou to 
Old Point, to Washington, and to New York. It is the stra- 
tegic point of the greatest importance in the whole Confed- 
eracy. If Richmond had fallen before McClellan's forces, the 
North expected that there would follow all of North Carolina 
except the mountains, part of South Carolina, and all of Ten- 
nessee that was left to us. ^ 

On the Richmond lines, two of the greatest and most splendid 
armies that had ever been arrayed on a single field confronted 
each other ; every accession that could be procured from the 
most distant quarters to their n-umbers, and every thing that 
could be drawn from the resources of the respective countries 
of each, had been made to contribute to the strengtli and 
splendor of the opposing hosts. 

Since the commencement of the war, the North had taxed 
its resources for the capture of Richmond ; nothing was omit- 
ted for the accomplishment of this event ; the way had to be 
opened to the capital by tedious and elab(?l'ate operations on 
the frontier of Virginia ; this accomplished, the city of Rich- 
mond was surrounded by an army whose numbers was all that 
could be desired ; composed of picked forces ; having every 
advantage that science and art could bestow in fortilicatious 



60 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

and every appliance of war ; assisted b}^ gunboat flotillas in 
two rivers, and endowed with eveiy thing that could assure 
success. 

The IS'orthern journals were unreserved in the statement 
that the commands of Fremont, Banks, and McDowell had 
been consolidated into one army, under Major-gen. Pope, with 
a view of bringing all the Federal forces in Yirginia to co- 
operate with McClellan on the Kichmond lines. A portion of 
this army must have readied McClellan, probably at an early 
stage of the engagements in the vicinity of Kichmond. In- 
deed, it was stated at a subsequent period by Mr. Chandler, a 
member of the Federal Congress, that the records of the Wai' 
Department at "Washington showed that more than one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand men had been sent to the lines about 
Richmond. There is little doubt but that, in the memorable 
contest for the safety of the Confederate capital, we engaged 
an army whose superiority in numbers to us was largely in- 
creased by timely reinforcements, and with regard to the 
operations of which the Northern government had omitted no 
conditions of success. 

THE BATTLE OF SEVEN PINES. 

Having reached the Chickahominy, McClellan threw a 
portion of his army across the, river, and, having thus estab- 
lished his left, proceeded to pivot upon it, and to extend his 
right by the right bank of the Pamunkey, so as to get to the 
north of Richmond. • 

Before the 30th of May, Gen. Johnston had ascertained that 
Keyes' corps was encamped on this side of the Chickahominy, 
near the Williamsburg road, and the same day a strong body 
of the enemy was reported in front of D. H. Hill. The fol- 
lowing disposition of forces was made for the attack the next 
day, the troops being ordered to move at daybreak : Gen. 
Hill, supported by the division of Gen. Longstreet (who had 
the direction of operations on the right), was to advance by 
the Williamsburg* road to attack the enemy in front; Gen. 
Huger, with his division, was to move down the Charles City 
road, in order to attack in flank the troops who might be en- 
gaged with Hill and Longstreet, unless he found in his front 
force enough to occupy his division ; Gen. Smith was to march 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 61 

to the junction of the l^ew Bridge road and the Nine Mile 
road, to be in readiness either to fall on Kejes' right flank, or 
to cover Longstreet's left. 

The next day hour after hour passed, while Gen. Longstreet 
in vain waited for Huger's division. At two o'clock in the 
afternoon he resolved to make the attack without these troops, 
and moved upon the enemy with his own and D. H. Hill's 
division, the latter in advance. 

Hill's brave trooj^s, admirably commanded and most gal- 
lantly led, forced their way through the abattis which formed 
the enemy's external defences, and stormed their intrench- 
ments by a determined and irresistible rush. Such was the 
manner in which the enemy's first line was carried. The 
operation was repeated with the same gallantry and success as 
our troops pursued their victorious career through the enemy's 
successive camps and intrenchments. At each new position 
they encountered fresh troops belonging to it, and reinforce- 
ments brought on from the rear. Thus they had to repel 
•repeated efforts to retake works which they had carried. But 
their advance was never successfully resisted. Their onward 
movement was only stayed by the coming of night. By night- 
fall they had forced Llieir way to the " Seven Pines," having 
driven the enemy back more than two miles, through their 
own camps, and from a series of intrenchments, and repelled 
every attempt to recapture them with great slaughter. 

The attack on the enemy's right was not so fortunate. The 
strength of his position enabled him to hold it until dark, and 
the intervention of night alone saved him from rout. On this 
part of the field Gen. Johnston was severely wounded by the 
fragment of a shell. 

In his official report of the operations of the day. General 
Johnston says : " Had Major-gen. Huger's division been in 
position and ready for action when those of Smith, Long- 
street, and Hill moved, I am satisfied that Keyes' corps would 
have been destroyed instead of being merely defeated." The 
slow and impotent movements of Gen. Huger were excused by 
himself on account of the necessity of building a bridge to 
cross the swollen stream in his front, and other accidental 
causes of delay. 

But notwithstanding the serious diminution of the fortunes 



62 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE "WAE. 

of the clay by Iluger's mishaps, they •were yet eonspicnons. 
"We had taken ten pieces of artillery and six thousand muskets, 
besides other spoils. Our total loss was more than four thou- 
sand. That of the enemy is stated in their own newspapers 
to have exceeded ten thousand — an estimate which is no doubt 
short of the truth. 

On the morning of the first of June, the enemy made a weak 
demonstration of attack on our lines. The 9th and 14th Yir- 
gioia regiments were ordered to feel for the enemy, and while 
thus engaged suddenly came upon a body of fifteen thousand 
Yankees intrenched in the woods. Under the murderous fire 
poured into their ranks, our troops were forced to fall back, 
but were rallied by the self-devoted gallantry of their ofiicers. 
Col. Godwin, the dashing and intrepid commander of the 9th, 
received a Minnie ball in the leg, and a moment later had his 
hip crushed hy the fall of his horse, which was shot under him. 
He was thirty paces in advance of his regiment when the attack 
Avas made, encouraging his men. At last, reinforcements 
coming up, the attack of the enemy was vigorously repulsed? 
This was the last demonstration of the enemy, who proceeded 
to strengthen those lines of intrenchments from which he had 
not yet been driven. 

THE BATTLES OF THE CHICKAHOMINY. 

Upon taking command of the Confederate army in the field, 
after Gen. Johnston had been wounded in the battle of Seven 
Pines, Gen. Lee did not hesitate to adopt the spirit of that com- 
mander, wdiich had already been displayed in attacking the 
enemy, and which indicated the determination on his part that 
the operations before Richmond should not degenerate into a 
siege. 

The course of the Chickahominy around Richmond affords 
an idea of the enemy's position at the commencement of the 
action. This stream meanders through the Tide-water district 
of Virginia — its course approaching that of the are of a circle 
in the neighborhood of Richmond — until it reaches the lower 
end of Charles City county, where it abruptly turns to the 
south and enipties into the James. A portion of the enemy's 
forces had crossed to the south side of the Chickahominy, and 




/^CCC^y ' 



CEN A D_ H 1 l; 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAE. 63 

were fortified on the "Williarasbnrg road. On the north bank 
of the stream the enemy was strongly posted for many miles; 
the heights on that side of the stream having been fortified 
with great energy and skill from Meadow Bridge, on a line 
nearly dne north from the city to a point below Bottom's 
Bridge, which is due east. This line of the enemy extended 
for about twenty*miles. 

Reviewing the situation of the two armies at the commence- 
ment of the action, the advantage was entirely our own. 
McClellan had divided his army on the two sides of the Chiek- 
aliominy, and operating apparently with the design of half cir- 
cnmvallating Richmond, had spread out his forces to an extent 
that impaired the faculty of concentration, and had made a 
weak and dangerous extension of his lines. 

On Thursday, the 26th of June, at three o'clock, Major-gen. 
Jackson — fresh from the exploits of his magnificent campaign 
in the Yalley — took up his line of march from Ashland, and 
proceeded down the country between the Chickahominy and Pa- 
munkey rivers. The enemy collected on the north bank of the 
Chickahominy, at the point where it is crossed by the Brooke 
turnpike, were driven off, and Brigadier-gen. Branch, crossing 
the stream, directed his movements for a junction with the 
column of Gen. A. P. Hill, which had crossed at Meadow 
Bridge. Gen. Jackson having borne away from the Chicka- 
hominy, so as to gain ground towards the Pamunkey, marched 
to the left of Mechanicsville, while Gen. Hill, keeping well to 
the Chickahominy, approached that village and engaged the 
enemy thei'e. 

With about fourteen thousand men (Gen. Branch did not 
arrive until nightfall) Gen. Hill engaged the forces of the 
enemy, until night put an end to the contest. While he did 
not succeed, in that limited time, in routing the enemy, his 
forces stubbornly maintained the possession of Mechanicsville 
and the ground taken by them on the other side of the Chick- 
ahominy. Driven from the immediate locality of Mechanics- 
ville, the enemy retreated during the night down the river to 
Powhite swamp, and night closed the operations of Thursday. 



64: THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 



STORMING OF THE ENEMY 8 INTRENCHMENTS. 

The road having been cleared at Mechanicsville, Gen. Long- 
street's corps d'ar7Jiee, consisting of his veteran division of the 
Old Guard of the Army of the Potomac, and Gen. D, H. HilFs 
division, debouched from the woods on the«soutli side of the 
Chickahominy, and crossed that river. Friday morning the 
general advance upon the enemy began ; Gen. A. P. Hill in 
the centi-e, and bearing towards Cold Harbor, while Gen. Long- 
street and Gen. D. H. Hill came down the Chickahominy to 
New Bridge. Gen. Jackson still maintained his position in' 
advance, far to the left, and gradually converging to the Chick- 
ahominy again. 

The position of the enemy was now a singular one. One 
portion of his army was on the south side of the Chickahom- 
iny, fronting Richmond, and confronted by Gen. Magruder. 
The other portion, on the north side, had fallen back to a new 
line of defences, where McClellan proposed to make a decisive 
battle. 

As soon as Jackson's arrival at Cold Harbor was announced, 
Gen. Lee and Gen. Longstreet, accompanied by their respect- 
ive statfs, rode by Gaines' Mill, and halted at 'New Cold Har- 
bor, where they joined Gen. A. P. Hill. Soon the welcome 
sound of Jackson's guns announced that he was at work. 

The action was now to become general for the first time on 
the Richmond lines ; and a collision of numbers was about to 
take place equal to any that had yet occurred in the history of 
the war. 

From four o'clock until eight the battle raged with a display 
of the utmost daring and intrepidity on the part of the Con- 
federate army. The enemy's lines were finally broken, and his 
strong positions all carried, and night covered the retreat of 
McClellan's broken and routed columns to the south side of the 
Chickahominy. 

The assault of the enemy's works near Gaines' Mill is a 
memorable part of the engagement of Friday, and the display 
of fortitude, as well as quick and dashing gallantry of our 
troops on that occasion, takes its place by the side of the most 
glorious exploits of the war. Gen. A. P. Hill had made -the 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 65 

first assault upon the lines of the enemy's intrenchments near 
Gaines' Mill. A fierce struggle had ensued between his di- 
vision and the garrison of the line of defence. Repeated 
charges were made by Hill's troops, but the formidable char- 
acter of the works, and murderous volleys from the artillery 
covering them, kept our troops in check. Twenty-six pieces 
of artillery were thundering- at them, and a perfect hailstorm 
of lead fell thick and fast around them. In front stood Fed- 
eral camps, stretching to the northeast for miles. Drawn up in 
line of battle were more than three full divisions, commanded 
by McCall, Porter, and Sedgwick. Banners darkened the air; 
artillery vomited forth incessant volleys of grape, canister, and 
shell ; and the wing of death waved everywhere in the sul- 
phurous atmosphere of the battle. 

It was past four o'clock when Pickett's brigade from Long- 
street's division came to Hill's support. Pickett's regiments 
fought with the most determined valor. At last, Whiting's' 
division, composed of the " Old Third" and Texan brigades, 
advanced at a double-quick, charged the batteries, and drove 
the enemy from his strong line of defence. The 4th Texas 
regiment was led by a gallant Yirginian, Col. Bradfute "War- 
wick. As the regiment was marching on with an irresistible 
impetuosity to the charge, he seized a battle-flag which had 
been abandoned by one of our regiments, and, bearing it aloft, 
he passed both of the enemy's breastworks in a most gallant 
style, and as he was about to plant the colors on a battery that 
the regiment captured, his right breast was pierced by a Minis 
ball, and he fell mortally wounded. . 

The works carried by our noble troops would have been in- 
vincible to the bayonet, had they been garrisoned by men less 
dastardly than the Yankees. All had been done on our side 
with the bullet and the bayonet. For four hours had our in- 
ferior force, unaided by a single piece of artillery, withstood 
over thirty thousand, assisted by twenty-six pieces of artillery. 

To keep the track of the battle, which had swept around 
Richmond, we must have reference to some of the principal 
points of locality in the enemy's lines. It will be recollected 
that it was on Thursday evening when the attack was com- 
menced upon the enemy near Meadow Bridge. This locality 
is about six miles distant from the city, on a line almost due 

5 



66 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

north. This position was the enemj^'s extreme right. His 
lines extended from hei'e across the Chickahominy, near the 
Powhite Creek, two or three miles above the crossing of the 
York Eiver raib'oad. From Meadow Bridge to this railroad, 
the distance along the Chickahominy on the north side is about 
ten miles. The different stages between the points indicated, 
along which the enemy were driven, are Mechanicsville, about 
a mile north of the Chickahominy ; further on, Beaver Dam 
Creek, emptying into the Chickahominy ; then the New Bridge 
road, on which Cold Harbor is located ; and then Powhite 
Creek, where the enemy had made his last stand, and been re- 
pulsed from the field. 

The York River railroad runs in an easterly direction, inter- 
secting the Chickahominy-about ten miles from the city. South 
of the railroad is the Williamsburg road, connecting with the 
Nine Mile road at Seven Pines. The former road connects 
with the New Bridge road, which turns off and crosses the 
Chickahominy. From Seven Pines, where the Nine Mile road 
joins the upper one, the road is known as the old Williamsburg 
road, and crosses the Chickahominy at Bottom's Bridge. 

With the bearing of these localities in his mind, the reader 
will readily understand how it was that the enemy was driven 
from his original strongholds on the north side of the Chicka- 
hominy, and how, at the time of Friday's battle, he had been 
compelled to surrender the possession of the Fredericksburg 
and Central railroads, and had been pressed to a position 
where he was cut off from the principal avenues of supply 
and escape. The disposition of onr forces was such as to cut 
off all communication between McClellan's army and the 
White House, on the Pamunkey river ; he had been driven 
completely from his northern line of defences; and it was sup- 
posed that he would be unable to extricate himself from his 
position without a victory or capitulation. 

On Sunday morning, it aj^pears that our pickets, on the Nine 
Mile road, having engaged some small detachments of the en- 
emy and driven them beyond their fortifications, found them 
deserted. In a short while it became known to our generals 
that McClellan, having massed his entire force on this side of 
the Chickahominy, was retreating towards James river. 

The intrenchments, which the enemy had deserted, were 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. » 67 

found to be formidable and elaborate. That immediately 
across the railroad, at the six-mile post, which had been sup- 
posed to be light earthwork, designed to sweep the railroad, 
turned out to be an immense embrasured fortification, extend- 
ing for hundreds of yards on either side of the track. Within 
this work were found great quantities of fixed ammunition, 
which had apparently been prepared for removal and then de- 
serted. All the cannon, as at other intrenchments, had been 
carried ofi*. A dense cloud of smoke was seen issuing from the 
woods two miles in advance of the battery and half a mile to 
the riglit of the railroad. The smoke was found to proceed 
from a perfect mountain of the enemy's commissary stores, 
consisting of sugar, coflFee, and bacon, prepared meats, vege- 
tables, &c., which he had fired. The fields and woods around 
this spot were covered with every description of clothing and 
camp equipage. No indication was wanting that the enemy 
had left this encampment in haste and disorder. 

The enemy had been imperfectly watched at a conjuncture 
the most critical in the contest, and through an omission of our 
guard — the facts of which are yet the subject of some contro- 
versy — McClellan had succeeded in massing his entire force, 
and taking up a line of retreat, by which he hoped to reach 
the cover of his gunboats on the James. But the most unfor- 
tunate circumstance to us was, that since the enemy had escaped 
from us in his fortified camp, his retreat was favored by a coun- 
try, the characteristics of which are unbroken forests and wide 
swamps, where it was impossible to pursue him with rapidity, 
and extremely diflicult to reconnoitre his position so as to bring 
him to decisive battle. 

/ In an official report of the situation of forces on the Rich- 
mond side of the Chickahominy, Gen. Magruder describes it 
as one of the gravest peril. He states that the larger portion 
of the enemy was on that side of the Chickahominy ; that the 
bridges had all been destroyed, and but one rebuilt — the New 
Bridge — which was commanded fully by the enemy's guns ; 
and that there were but twenty-five thousand men between 
McClellan's army of one hundred thousand and Richmond. 
Referring to a situation so extremely critical, he says : " Had 
McClellan massed his whole force in column, and advanced it 
against any point of our line of battle, as was done at Auster- 



68 « THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 

litz under similar circumstances, by the greatest captain of any 
age, though the head of his cohimn would have sujffered greatly, 
its momentum would have insured him success, and the occu- 
pation of our works about Richmond, and, consequently, of the 
city, might have been his reward." Taking this view of the sit- 
uation. Gen. Magruder states that his relief was great when it 
was discovered the next day that the enemy had left our front 
and was continuing to retreat. 

The. facts, however, are contrary to the theory of Gen. Ma- 
gruder and to the self-congratulations which he derives from 
it. Our troops on the two sides of the river were only sej)ar- 
ated until we succeeded in occupying the position near what is 
known as New Bridge, which occurred before 12 o'clock m., 
on Friday, June 27, and before the attack on the enemy at 
Gaines' Mill. From the time we reached the position referred 
to, our communications between the two wings of our army 
may be regarded as re-establised. The bridge referred to and 
another about three-quarters of a mile above were ordered to 
be repaired before noon on Friday, and the new bridge was 
sufficiently rebuilt to be passed by artillery on Friday night, 
and the one above it was used for the passage of wagons, am- 
bulances, and troops early on Saturday morning. Besides this, 
all other bridges above New Bridge, and all the fords above 
that point, were open to us. 

THE AFFAIR AT SAVAGe's STATION. 

During Sunday, a portion of the enemy was encountered 
upon the York River railroad, near a place called Savage's Sta- 
tion, the troops engaged on our side being the division of Gen. 
McLaws, consisting of Generals Kershaw and Semmes' brigades, 
supported by Gen. Griffith's brigade from Magruder's division. 
The Federals were found to be strongly intrenched, and as 
soon as our skirmishers came in view, they were opened upon 
with a furious cannonade from a park of field-pieces. Kem- 
per's battery now went to the front, and for three hours the 
battle raged hotly, when the discomfited Yankees again re- 
sumed their retreat. Early in the day, on reaching the re- 
doubts, Gen. Griffiths, of Mississippi, one of the heroes of Lees- 
burg, was killed by the fragment of a shell. He was the only 



/ 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 69 

general officer killed on our side during the whole of the bloody 
week. 

In this encounter with the enemy, the gallant 10th Georgia 
regiment suffered severely, engaging the enemy hand to hand, 
and leaving upon the field memorable evidences of their cour- 
age. The enemy, to use an expression of his prisoners, was 
" mowed down" by the close fire of our adventurous troops ; 
and the failure of the attempt of McClellan to break through 
our lines at this point, left him to continue a hopeless retreat. 

THE BATTLE OF FRATSEr's FARM. 

By daybreak on Monday morning, the pursuit of the enemy 
was actively resumed. D. H. Hill, Whiting, and Ewell, under 
command of Jackson, crossed the Chickahominy by the Grape- 
vine bridge, and followed the enemy on their track by the 
Williamsburg road and Savage's Station. Longstreet, A, P. 
Hill, Huger, and Magruder pursued the enemy by the Charles 
City road, with the intention of cutting him off. 

The divisions of Generals Hill and Longstreet were, during 
the whc»le of the day, moving in the hunt for the enemy. The 
disposition which was made of our forces, brought Gen. Long- 
street on the enemy's front, immediately supported by Gen. 
Hill's division, consisting of six brigades. The forces com- 
manded by Gen. Longstreet were his old division, consisting 
of six brigades. 

The position of the enemy was about five miles northeast of 
Darby town, on the New Market road. The immediate scene 
of the battle was a plain of sedge pines, in the cover of which 
the enemy's forces were skilfully disposed — the locality being 
known as Frayser's farm. In advancing upon the enemy, bat- 
teries of sixteen heavy guns were opened upon the advance 
columns of Gen. Hill. Our troops, pressing heroically for- 
ward, had no sooner got within musket range, than the enemy, 
forming several lines of battle, poured upon them from his 
heavy masses a devouring fire of musketry. The conflict be- 
came terrible, the air being filled with missiles of death, every 
moment having its peculiar sound of terror, and every spot 
its sight of ghastly destruction and horror. It is impossible 
that in any of the series of engagements which had taken place 



70 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

within the past few days, and had tracked the lines of Rich- 
mond with fire and destruction, there could have been more 
desperate fighting on the part of our troops. Never M'as a 
more glorious victory plucked from more desperate and threat- 
ening circumstances. While exposed to the double fire of the 
enemy's batteries and his musketry, we were unable to contend 
with him with artillery. But although thus unmatched, our 
brave troops pressed on with unquailing vigor and a resistless 
courage, driving the enemy before them. This was accom- 
plished without artillery, there being but one battery in Gen. 
Hill's command on the spot, and that belonged to Longstreet's 
division, and could not be got into position. Thus the fight 
continued with an ardor and devotion that few battle-fields 
have ever illustrated. Step by step the enemy were driven 
back, his guns taken, and the ground he abandoned strewn 
with his dead. By half-past eight o'clock we had taken all 
his cannon, and, continuing to advance, had driven him a mile 
and a half from his ground of battle. 

Our forces were still advancing upon the retreating lines of 
the enemy. It was now about half-past nine o'clock, and very 
dark. Suddenly, as if it had burst from the heavens, a sheet 
of fire enveloped the front of our advance. The enemy had 
made another stand to receive us, and from the black masses 
of his forces, it was evident that he had been heavily i-ein- 
forced, and that another whole coi'ps dfarmee had been brought 
up to contest the fortunes of the night. Line after line of 
battle was formed. It was evident that his heaviest columns 
were now being thrown against our small command, and it 
might have been supposed that he would only be satisfied with 
its annihilation. The loss here on our side was terrible. 

The situation being evidently hopeless for any further pur- 
suit of the fugitive enemy, who had now brought up such over- 
whelming forces, our troops retired slowl3^ 

At this moment, seeing their adversary retire, the most 
vociferous cheers arose along the whole Yankee line. They 
were taken up in the distance by the masses which for miles 
and miles beyond were supporting McClellan's front. It was 
a moment when the heart of the stoutest commander might 
have been appalled. The situation of our forces was now as 
desperate as it well could be, and required a courage and 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 71 

presence of mind to retrieve it, which the circumstances which 
surrounded them were not well calculated to inspire. Thej 
had fought for five or six hours without reinforcements. All 
our reserves had been brought up in the action. Wilcox's 
brigade, which had been almost annihilated, was re-forming in 
the rear. 

Hiding rapidly to the position of this brigade, Gen. Hill 
brought them by great exertions up to the front, to check the 
advance of the now confident, cheering enemy. Catching the 
spirit of their commander, the brave but jaded men moved up 
to the front, replying to the enemy's cheers with shouts and 
yells. At this demonstration, which the enemy, no doubt, sup- 
posed signified heavy reinforcements, he stopped his advance. 
It was now about half-past ten o'clock in the night. The 
enemy had been arrested ; and the fight — one of the most re- 
markable, long-contested, and gallant ones that had yet occurred 
on our lines — was concluded with the achievement of a field 
under the most trying circumstances, which the enemy, with the 
most overpowering numbers brought up to reinforce him, had 
not succeeded in reclaiming. 

Gen. Magruder's division did not come up until eleven 
o'clock at night, after the fight had been concluded. By orders 
from Gen. Lee, Magruder moved upon and occupied the battle- 
ground ; Gen. Hill's command being in such a condition of 
prostration from their long and toilsome fight, and suffering 
in killed and wounded, that it was proper they should be re- 
lieved by the occupation of the battle-ground by a fresh oon'jps 
d'armee. 

THE BATTLE OF MALVERN HILL. 

Early on Tuesday morning, the enemy, from the position to 
which he had been driven the night before, continued his 
retreat in a southeasterly direction towards his gunboats in 
James river. 

General Magruder was directed to proceed by the Quaker 
road, and to form on the right of Jackson. On account of a 
misunderstanding as to which was the Quaker road, the v.-rong 
route was taken by General Magruder ; and the direction of 
his movement was subsequently changed, so as to place hia 



72 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 

troops on the right of Huger, who in the mean time had formed 
on the right of Jackson. 

The enemy had now placed himself in communication with 
his gunboats in the river. He was strongly posted on the 
crest of a hill, commanding an undulating field, which fell to 
our right into a plain or meadow. His batteries of artillery 
were numerous, and were collected into two large bodies, 
strongly supported by infantry, and commanded perfectly the 
meadow on our right, and the field in our front, except the 
open ravines formed by the undulations of the ground. 

An order was dispatched by General Magruder to bring up 
from all the batteries thirty rifle pieces, if possible, with which 
he hoped to shatter the enemy's infantry. While delay was 
thus occasioned, he was ordered to make the attack. Return- 
ing rapidly to the position occupied by the main body of his 
troops, he gave Brigadier-general Jones the necessary orders 
for the advance of his divisicm. While this was being done, a 
heavy and crushing fire was opened from the enemy's guns, of 
great range and metal. 

General Armistead having repulsed, driven back, and fol- 
lowed up a heavy body of the enemy's skirmishers, an order 
was received from General Lee by Magruder, directing him 
" to advance rapidly, press forward his whole line and follow 
up Armistead's successes, as the enemy were reported to be 
getting off." In the mean time Mahone's and Ransom's bri- 
gades of Huger's division having been ordered up, General 
Magruder gave the order that Wright's brigade, supported by 
Mahone's, should advance and attack the enemy's batteries on 
the right, and that Jones' division, expected momentarily, 
should advance on the front, and Ransom's brigade should 
attack on the left. The 'plan of attack was to hurl about fifteen 
thousand men against the enemy's batteries and supporting 
infantry — to follow up any successes they might obtain ; and if 
unable to drive the enemy from his strong position, to continue 
the fight in front by pouring in fresh troops ; and in case they 
were repulsed, to hold strongly the line of battle where we 
stood. 

At about 5 o'clock p. m., the order was given to our men to 
charge across the field and drive the enemy from their posi- 
tion. Gallantly they sprang to the encounter, rushing into 



THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAK. 73 

tlie field at a full run. Instantly, from the line of the enemy's 
breastworks, a murderous storm of grape and canister was 
hurled into their ranks, with the most terrible effect. Officers 
and men went down by hundreds ; but yet, undaunted and 
unwavering, our line dashed on, until two-thirds of the distance 
across the field was accomplished. Here the carnage from the 
withering fire of the enemy's combined artillery and musketry 
was dreadful. Our line wavered a moment, and fell back to 
the cover of the woods. Twice again the efifort to carry the 
position was renewed, but each time with the same result. 

The hill was bathed with flames. Towards sunset the earth 
quivered with the terrific concussion of artillery and huge ex- 
plosions. Shells raced athwart the horizon, exploding into 
deadly iron hail. The forms of smoke-masked men ; the gleam 
of niuskets on the plains, where soldiers were disengaged ; the 
artistic order of battle; the wild career of wilder horsemen 
plunging to and fro across the field, formed a scene of exciting 
grandeur. In the forest, where eyes did not penetrate, there 
was nothing but the exhilarating and exhausting spasm of 
battle. 

As the night fell the battle slackened. We had not carried 
the enemy's position, but we occupied the field, and during the 
night posted our pickets within one hundred yards of his guns. 
The brigades of Mahone and "Wright slept on the battle-field 
in the advanced positions they had won, and Armistead's bri- 
gade and a portion of Ransom's also occupied the battle-field. 

The battle of Tuesday, properly known as that of Malvern 
Hill, was perhaps the most sanguinary of the series of bloody 
conflicts which had taken place on the lines about Richmond. 
Although not a defeat, it broke the chain of our victories. It 
was made memorable by its melancholy monument of carnage, 
which was probably greater than Gen. Magruder's estimate, 
which states that our loss fell short of three thousand. But it 
had given the enemy no advantage, except in the unfruitful 
sacrifice of the lives of our troops ; and the line of his retreat 
was again taken up, his forces toiling towards the river through 
mud, swamp, and forest. 

The skill and spirit with which IVJcClellan had managed to 
retreat was, indeed, remarkable, and afforded no mean proofs 
of his generalship. At every stage of his retreat he had con- 



74 THE SECOND YKAR OF THE WAK. 

fronted our forces with a strong rear-guai-d, and liad encoun- 
tered us with well-organized lines of battle, and regular dispo- 
sitions of infantry, cavalry, and artillery. His heavy rilled 
cannon had been used against us constantly on his retreat. A 
portion of his forces had now effected communication with the 
river at points below City Point. The plan of cutting oif his 
communication with the river, which was to have been executed 
by a movement of Holmes' division between him and the river, 
was frustrated by the severe fire of the gunboats, and since 
then the situation of the enemy appeared to be that of a divi- 
sion or dispersion of his forces, one portion resting on the river, 
and the other, to some extent, involved by our lines. 

It had been stated to the public of Richmond, with great 
precision of detail, that on the evening of Saturday, the 28tli 
of June, we had brought the enemy to bay on the South side 
of the Chickahominy, and that it only remained to iinish him 
in a single battle. Such, in fact, appeared to have been the 
situation then. The next morning, however, it was perceived 
that our supposed resources of generalship had given us too 
much confidence ; that the enemy had managed to extricate 
himself from the critical position, and, having massed his forces, 
had succeeded, under cover of the night, in opening a way to 
the James river. ^ 

Upon this untoward event, the operations of our army on the 
Richmond side of the Chickahominy were to follow the fugi- 
tive enemy through a country where he had admirable oj)por- 
tunities of concealment, and through the swamps and forests 



* With reference to McClellan's escape from White Oak Swamp to the river, 
letters of Yankee officers, published in the Northern journals, stated that when 
McClellan, on Saturday evening, sent his scouts down the road to 'J'urkey Island 
bridge, he was astonished and delighted to find that our forces had not occupied 
that road, and immediately started his wagon and artillery trains, which were 
quietly passing down that road all night to the James river, whilst our forces 
were quietly sleeping within four miles of the very road they should have occu- 
pied, and should liave captured every one of the enemy's one thousand wagons 
and four hundred cannon. It is further stated in these letters, that if we had 
blocked up that only passage of escape, their entire army must have surrendered 
or been starved out in twenty-four hours. These are the Yankees' own accounts 
of how much they were indebted to blunders on our part for the success ot 
McClellan's retreat — a kind of admission not popular with a vain and self- 
adulatory enemy. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 75 

of which he had retreated with the most remarkable judgment, 
dexterity, and spirit of fortitude. 

The glory and fruits of our victory may have been seriously 
diminished by the grave mishap or fault by which the enemy 
was permitted to leave his camp on the south side of the Chick- 
ahomin}'^, in an open country, and to plunge into the dense 
cover of wood and swamp, where the best portion of a whole 
week was consumed in hunting him, and finding out his new 
position only in time to attack him under the uncertainty and 
disadvantage of the darkness of night. 

But the successes achieved in the series of engagements 
which had already occurred were not to be lightly esteemed, 
or to be depreciated, because of errors which, if they had not 
occurred, would have made our victory more glorious and more 
com^^lete. The siege of Kichmond had been raised ; an army 
of one hundred and Hfty thousand men had been pushed from 
their strongholds and fortifications, and put to flight ; we had 
enjoyed the eclat of an almost daily succession of victories; we 
had gathered an immense spoil in stores, provisions, and ar- 
tillery ; and we had demoralized and dispersed, if we had not 
succeeded in annihilating, an army which had every resource 
that could be summoned to its assistance, every possible ad- 
dition to numbers within the reach of the Yankee government, 
and every material condition of success to insure for it the 
great prize of the capital of the Confederacy, which was now, 
as far as human judgment could determine, irretrievably lost 
to them, and secure in the protection of a victorious army. 

The Northern papers claimed that the movements of Mc- 
Clellan from the Chickahominy river were purely strategic, 
and that he had obtained a position where he would establish 
a new base of operations against Richmond. Up to the first 
decisive stage in the series of engagements — Cold Harbor — 
there were certainly plain strategic designs in his backward 
movement. His retirement from Mechanics ville was probably 
voluntary, and intended to concentrate his troops lower down, 
where he might fight with the advantages of numbers and his 
own selection of j)osition. Continuing his retreat, he fixed the 
decisive field at Cold Harbor. Again having been pushed 
from his strongholds north of the Chickahominy, the enemy 



76 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

made a strong attempt to retrieve his disasters by renewing a 
concentration of his troops at Frayser's farm. 

From the time of these two principal battles, all pretensions 
of the enemy's retreat to strategy must cease. His retreat was 
now unmistakable; it was no longer a falling back to concen- 
trate troops for action ; it is, in fact, impossible to disguise that 
it was the retreat of an enemy who was discomfited and 
whipped, although not routed. He had abandoned the rail- 
roads ; he had given up the strongholds which he had provided 
to secure him in case of a check ; he had destroyed from eight 
to ten millions dollars' worth of stores ; he had deserted his 
hospitals, his sick and wounded, and he had left in our hands 
thousands of prisoners and innumerable stragglers. 

Kegarding all that had been accomplished in these battles ; 
the displays of the valor and devotion of our troops ; the ex- 
penditure of blood ; and the helpless and fugitive condition to 
which the enemy had at last been reduced, there was cause for 
the keenest regrets that an enemy in this condition was per- 
mitted to secure his retreat. It is undoubtedly true, that in 
failing to cut off McClellan's retreat to the river, we failed to 
accomplish the most important condition for the completion of 
our victory. But although the result of the conflict had fallen 
below public expectation, it was sufliciently fortunate to excite 
popular joy, and grave enough to engage the most serious 
speculation as to the future. 

The mouth of the Yankee government was shut from any 
more promises of a speedy termination of the war ; the powers 
of Europe saw that the Southern Confederacy was not yet 
crushed, or likely to be crushed, by its insolent foe ; and the 
people of the South had again challenged the confidence of the 
world in the elasticity of their fortunes and the invincible 
destiny of their independence. 

The fortune of events in other parts of the Confederacy, 
taking place about the time of the relief of Richmond, or 
closely following it, although less striking and dramatic, was 
not unpropitious. These events, a rapid survey of which takes 
us from the seacoast to the Mississippi frontier, added to the 
exultations which the victories of the Chickahominy had occa- 
sioned, and, although qualified by some disasters, enlarged and 
enlightened the prospects of the future. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 77 

A few days before the great battles had been joined around 
Richmond, a brilliant success over the Yankees had been ob- 
tained in an engagement on James Island in the neigljborhood 
of Charleston. The battle of Secessionville, as it was called, 
occurred on the 16th of June. About four o'clock in the 
morning of that day, the enemy, taking advantage of the neg- 
ligence of our pickets, drove them in, or captured them, some 
eight hundred yards in front of the battery at Secessionville, 
and, advancing rapidly upon this work in line of battle, arrived 
within a few hundred yards of it before we could open upon 
him. The men, however, were at their guns, which were at 
once' well and rapidly served, while the infantry was moved 
promptly into position under the orders of Col. J. G. Lamar, 
the heroic commander of the post. It was not long after get- 
ting the infantry into position, that the enemy were driven 
back in confusion. They were soon, however, reinforced, and 
made another desperate charge, when they were again driven 
back ; a third time they came, but only to meet with the most 
determined repulse. They then made a flank movement on 
our right, on the west of Secessionville, where they were gal- 
lantly met by the Charleston battalion, which was soon rein- 
forced by the Louisiana battalion. Three times had the heroic 
band of Confederates repulsed (often at the point of the bay- 
onet) a force thrice their strength, under the fire of three gun- 
boats and four land batteries. About ten o'clock the enemy 
retreated in great confusion, leaving their dead and wounded 
on the field, a number lying in our trenches. The loss of the 
enemy was at least four hundred in killed, wounded, and pris- 
oners. Their dead in front of the Secessionville works num- 
bered one hundred and sixty-eight. Our loss was forty killed, 
and about twice that number wounded. 

In the situation in the West some important changes had 
transpired in the early months of the summer. 

The evacuation of Corinth was determined upon by Gen. 
Beauregard, after having twice offered the enemy battle outside 
of his intrenched lines, and was accomplished on the 30tli of 
May. The transparent object of the Yankee commander was 
to cut off our resources, by destroying the Mobile and Ohio 
and Memphis and Charleston railroads. Tliis was substantially 
foiled by the evacuation and withdrawal of our forces along 



78 THR SECOND YEAR OF TUE WAR. 

the line of the former road. Remaining in rear of tlie Tus- 
cumbia and its affluents, some six miles from Corinth, long 
enough •to collect stragglers, Gen. Beauregard resumed his 
march, concentrating his main forces at Baldwin. On June 
7th he left Baldwin, it offering no advantages of a defensive 
character, and assembled the main body of his forces at Tupelo. 

On the morning of the evacuation of Corinth, our effective 
force did not exceed forty-seven thousand men of all arms; 
that of the enemy, obtained from the best sources of informa- 
tion, could not have been less than ninety thousand men of all 
arms. The story of the evacuation was flourished by the 
Yankees as a great success on their side, and coupled with an 
audacious falsehood reported by Gen. Pope to Gen. Halleck, 
then in command of the enemy's forces in the West, to the 
effect that he had taken ten thousand prisoners and fifteen 
thousand stand of arms. The facts are, that the retreat was 
conducted Avith great order and precision ; and that, despite 
the boasts of the North to the contrary, we lost no more pris- 
oners than the enemy did himself, and abandoned to him in 
stores not more than would amount to one day's expense of 
our army. 

The capture of Memphis was another step towards the reali- 
zation of the enemy's great object of opening the navigation 
of the Mississippi, which was persistently demanded by the 
Northwestern States, as the price of their contributions to the 
war, and their support of the administration at Washington.* 
This city had been formally surrendered to the Yankees after 
a naval engagement in front of it on the 6th of June, in which 
our loss was eighty killed and wounded and seventy-five taken 
prisoners, and four gunboats sunk. 



* The Board of Trade of St. Louis published a paper on this subject, which 
assumed the ground that the object of the Confederacy was to hold the entire 
and exclusive control of the Mississippi. It went into detail to show how great 
a loss the present obstruction of that highway was to the "loyal" Western 
States. It was the natural outlet to the produce of the Upper Valley. During 
the year 1860, the shipments from Cairo and points above the Mississippi and its 
tiibutaries, by way of the lower Mississippi, amounted to a million of tons, of 
which 400,000 went from St. Louis. It averred that the difference in cost of 
freight by the river and the railroad was ten dollars a ton ; also, that this, with 
the return freight, would amount to a total of $15,000,000 tax on the Western 
people by reason of the closing of the river. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF TFIE WAR. 79 

Tlie occupation of Memphis by the enemy was a serions dis- 
aster to the South, although it did not open the Mississippi ; 
for it gave him extraordinary facilities for almost daily rein- 
forcements of men and supplies, and for the preparation of 
expeditions to penetrate to the heart of the Confederacy. 

But the enemy received a check on the Mississippi where 
lie had least expected it. On the 24th of June, his combined 
fleet retired, and abandoned the siege of Vicksburg, without 
accomplishing any thing, after a siege of six weeks. No injury 
was sustained by any of the batteries at Yicksburg. The 
number of shells thrown into the city and at the batteries 
amounted to 25,000. The casualties in the city were one 
woman and one negro man killed, and among the soldiers on 
guard and at the batteries there were twenty-two killed and 
wounded. The lower bombarding fleet, under command of 
Coms. Farragut and Porter, consisted of 18 gun and mortar 
boats, 5 sloops-of-war and TO transports ; the upper fleet con- 
sisted of 11 gunboats and rams, and 13 transports, under 
command of Com. Davis. 

Tlie people of the South found in the defence of Yicksburg 
a splendid lesson of magnanimity and disinterested patriotism. 
For several weeks the city had resisted successfully the attack 
of the enemy's gunboats, mortar fleets, and heavy siege guns. 
She was threatened by powerful fleets above and below, and 
yet, with unexampled spirit, the Queen City of the Bluffs sus- 
tained the iron storm that was rained upon her for weeks with 
continued fury. 

New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez, and Memphis were in 
the hands of the Yankees, and their possession by the enemy 
might have furnished to Yicksburg, in its exposed and des- 
perate situation, the usual excuses of timidity and selfishness 
for its surrender. But the brave city resisted these vile and 
unmanly excuses, and gave to the world one of the proudest 
and most brilliant illustrations of the earnestness and devotion 
of the people of the South that liad yet adorned the war. 

The fact that but little hopes could be entertained of the 
eventual success of tbe defence of Yicksburg against the 
powerful concentration of the enemy's navy heightened the 
nobility of the resistance she made. The resistance of the enemy 
in circumstances M'hich affbrd but a feeble and uncertain pros- 



80 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

pect of victory requires a great spirit ; but it is more invalu- 
ble to us than a hundred easy victories ; it teaches the enemy 
that we are invincible and overcomes him with despair ; it 
exhibits to the world the inspirations and moral grandeur 
of our cause ; and it educates our people in chivalry and 
warlike virtues by the force of illustrious examples of self- 
devotion. 

But the people of the South had the satisfaction of witnessing 
an unexpected issue of victory in the siege of Vicksburg, and 
had occasion to learn another lesson that the history of all 
wars indicates, that the practical test of resistance affords 
the only sure determination whether a place is defensible 
or not. With a feeling of inexpressible pride did Vicksburg 
behold two immense fleets, each of which had been heretofore 
invincible, brought to bay, and unable to cope with her, kept 
at a respectful distance, and compelled to essay the extraordi- 
nary task of digging a new channel for the Mississippi. 

In the month of July occurred the remarkable expedition of 
the celebrated John Morgan into Kentucky. The expedition 
of this cavalier was one of the most brilliant, rapid, and suc- 
cessful raids recorded in history. Composed of a force less 
than one thousand, consisting of Morgan's own regiment, with 
some partizan rangers from Georgia, and a Texas squadron, to 
which was attached two companies of Tennessee cavalry, it 
penetrated as far as Cyiithianna. It was Morgan's intention 
to make a stand, at Richmond, Kentucky, to await reinforce- 
ments, as he was persuaded that nearly the whole people of 
that State was ready to rise and join him; but finding that 
the enemy were endeavoring to envelope him with large bodies 
of cavalry, he was compelled to fall back. On reaching Som- 
erset, he took possession of the telegraph, and very coolly 
countermanded all the previous orders that had been given by 
Gen. Boyle at Louisville to pursue him. 

He had left Knoxville on the fourth day of July with nine 
hundred men, and returned to Lexington on the 28th with 
nearly twelve hundred. In twenty-four days he had pene- 
trated two hundred and fifty miles into a country in full pos- 
session of the Yankees ; captured seventeen towns ; met, fought, 
and captured a Yankee force superior to his own in numbers ; 
captured three thousand stand of arms at Lebanon ; and, from 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 81 

first to last, destroyed during his raid military stores, railroad 
bridges, and other property to the value of eight or ten millions 
of dollars. He accomplished all this, besides putting the 
people of Cincinnati into a condition, described by one of their 
newspapers, as " bordering on frenzy," and returned to Ten- 
nessee with a loss in all his engagements of not more than 
ninety men in killed, wounded and missing. 

While some activity was shown in extreme portions of the 
West, we shall see that our military operations from Green- 
brier county, Virginia, all the way down to Chattanooga, 
Tennessee, were conducted with but little vigor. On the 
boundaries of East Tennessee, Southwestern Yirginia and 
Kentucky, we had a force in the aggregate of thirty thousand 
men, confronted by probably not half their number of Yankee 
troops ; yet the Southwestern counties of Virginia and the 
valley of the Clinch, in Tennessee, were entered and merci- 
lessly plundered by the enemy in the face of our troops. 

But we shall have occasion to notice the campaign in the 
West on a broader arena. We shall see how movements in 
this direction pressed back the discouraged and retreating foe. 
We shall see how these movements of the Confederates were 
intended to repossess the country previously occupied by them 
and to go forward to the redemption of the State of Kentucky, 
and the attack of one or more of the leading cities of the West ; 
how, in the prosecution of this plan, North Alabama and Mis- 
sissippi were speedily cleared of the footsteps of the foe ; how 
all of Tennessee, save the strongholds of Memphis and Nash- 
ville, and the narrow districts commanded by them, were 
retrieved, and, by converging armies, nearly the whole of Ken- 
tucky was occupied and held — and how, at last, all these 
achievements were reversed in a night's time, and the most 
valuable and critical points abandoned by our troops, or rather 
by the will of the unfortunate general who led them. 

But our narrative does not yet open on the chequered page 
of the West. That important part of our history is prefaced 
by the brilliant story of the summer campaign of the upper 
Potomac, and is relieved by dazzling lights of glory on the old 
battle-grounds of Virginia. 



THE SECOND YEAB OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER III. 

Effect of McClellan's Defeat in the North.— Call for more Troops.— Why the North 
was not easily dispirited. — The War as a Money Job. — Note: Gen. Washington's 
Opinion of New Entrland.— The Yankee Finances.— Exasperation of Hostilities. — The 
Yankee Idea of a " Vigorous Prosecution of the War." — Ascendancy of the Radicals. 
— War Measures at Washington.— Anti-Slavery Aspects of the War. — Brutality of the 
Yankees. — ^The Insensibility of Europe. — Yankee Chaplains in Virginia. — Seizures of 
Private Property. — Pope's Orders in Virginia. — Steiuwehrs Order respecting Host- 
ages. — The Character and Services of Gen. John Pope. — The " Army of Virginia." — 
Irruption of the Northern Spoilsmen. — The Yankee Trade in Counterfeit Confederate 
Notes. — Pope's " Chasing the Rebel Hordes." — Movement against Pope by " Stone- 
wall" Jackson. — Battle of Cedar Mountain. — McClellan recalled from the Penin- 
sula. — The Third Grand Army of the North. — Jackson's Surprise of the Enemy at 
Manassas. — A Rapid and Masterly Movement. — Change of the Situation. — Attack by 
the Enemy upon Bristow Station and at Manassas Junction. — Marshalling of the 
Hosts. — Longstreet's Passage of Thoroughfare Gap. — The Plans of Gen. Lee. — Spirit 
of our Troops. — Their Painful Marches. — The Second Battle of Manassas.— A ter- 
rible Bayonet Charge. — Rout of the Enemy. — A hideous Battle-field. — Gen. Lee and 
the Summer Campaign of Virginia. — Jackson's Share in it. — E.\tent of the Great 
Victory of Manassas. — Excitement in Washington. — The Yankee Army falls back 
upon Alexandria and Washington. — Review of the Situation. — Rapid Change in our 
Military Fortunes. — What the South had accomplished. — Comparison of Material 
Strength between North and South. — Humiliating Result to the Warlike Reputation 
of the North. 

The effect of the defeat of McClellan before Richmond was 
received at the North with ill-concealed mortilication and anx- 
iety. Beneath the bluster of the newspapers, and the affecta- 
tions of public confidence, disappointment, embarrassment and 
alarm were perceptible. The people of the North had been so 
assured of the capture of Richmond, that it was difficiilt to re- 
animate them on the heels of McClellan's retreat. The pros- 
pects held out to them so long, of ending the war in " sixty 
days," " crushing out the rebellion," and eating victorious din- 
ners in Richmond, had been bitterly disappointed and were 
not to be easily renewed. The government at Washington 
showed its appreciation of the disaster its arms had sustained by 
making a call for three hundred thousand additional troops f' 

« The Army Register, published at Washington, in its statement of the organ- 
ization of the regular army, enumerates as its force six regiments of cavalry, five 
of artillery, ten of infantry (old army), and nine of infantry (new army). 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 83 

and the people of the North were urged by every variety of 
appeal, including large bounties of money, to respond to the 
stirring call of President Lincoln. 

There is no doubt but that the North was seriously discour- 
aged by the events that had taken place before Richmond. 
But it was a remarkable circumstance, uniformly illustrated in 
the war, that the North, though easily intoxicated by triumph, 
was not in the same proportion depressed by defeat. There is 
an obvious explanation for this peculiarity of temper. As 
long as the North was conducting the war upon the soil of the 
South, a defeat there involved more money expenditure and 
more calls for troops ; it involved scarcely any thing else ; it 
had no other horrors, it did not imperil their homes ; it might 
easily be repaired by time. Indeed, there was some sense in 
the exhortation of some of the Northern orators, to the effect 
that defeat made their people stronger than ever, because, 
while it required them to put forth their energies anew, it en- 
abled them to take advantage of experience, to multiply their 
means of success, and to essay new plans of campaign. No 
one can doubt but that the celebrated Manassas defeat really 
strengthened the North ; and doubtless the South would have 
realized the same consequence of the second repulse of the ene- 
my's movements on Richmond, if it had been attended by the 
same conditions on our part of inaction and repose. 

It is curious to observe how completely the ordinary aspects 
of war were changed and its horrors diminished, with refer- 
ence to the North, by the false policy of the South, in keeping 

The strength of this branch of the service in men, may be thus stated : 

Total commissioned officers 2,388 

Total enlisted, 40,626 



Aggregate, 43,014 
The figures which are collected below, to show the organization of the volunteer 
army of the North, refer to the date of the Register, August 1, 1862. 

It appears that at this date there were in the volunteer army of the North 
seventy regiments of cavalry, seventy of artillery, and eight hundred and sixty 
regiments of infantry. 
These startling official figures give the following result : 

Total commissioned officers, 39,922 

Total rank and file, 1,052,480 

Aggregate, 1,092,402 



84 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

the theatre of active hostilities within lier own borders. Defeat 
did not dispirit the North, because it was not brought to her 
doors. Where it did not immediately imperil the safety of 
the country and homes of the Yankees, where it gave time for 
the recovery and reorganization of the attacking party, and 
where it required for the prosecution of the war nothing but 
more money jobs in Congress and a new raking up of the scum 
of the cities, the eflects of defeat upon the North might well 
be calculated to be the exasperation of its passions, the inflam- 
mation of its cupidity, and the multiplication of its exertions 
to break and overcome the misapplied power of our armies. 

Indeed, the realization of the war in the North was, in many 
respects, nothing more than that of an immense money job. 
The large money expenditure at "Washington supplied a vast 
fund of corruption ; it enriched the commercial centres of the 
North, and by artificial stimulation preserved such cities as 
New York from decay ; it interested vast numbers of politi- 
cians, contractors, and dissolute public men in continuing the 
war and enlarging the scale of its operations ; and, indeed, the 
disposition to make money out of the war accounts for much 
of that zeal in the North, which was mistaken for political 
ardor or the temper of patriotic devotion.* 

* The following is an extract from an unpublished letter from Gen. Washing- 
ton to Richard Henry Lee, and, as an exposition of the character of the Northern 
people from a pen sacred to posterity, is deeply interesting. There can be no 
doubt of the authenticity of the letter. It has been preserved in the Lee family, 
who, though applied to by Bancroft, Irving, and others for a copy for publica- 
tion, have hitherto refused it, on the ground that it would be improper to give 
to the world a private letter from the Fathej- of his Country reflecting upon any 
portion of it while the Union endure^- ',B.uk now, that "these people" have 
trampled the Constitution under foot, dcvoiuyed the government of our fathers, 
and invaded and desolated Washington's own county in Vii'ginia, there can be 
no impropriety in showing his private opinion of the Massachusetts Yankees : 

[Copy.] 

Camp at Cambridge, Aug. 29, 1775. 
Dear Sir: * * * 

As we have now nearly completed our lines of defence, we have nothing 
more, in my opinion, to fear from the enemy, provided we can keep our men 
to their duty, and make them watchful and vigilant ; but it is among the most 
difficult tasks I ever undertook in ray life, to induce these people to believe that 
there is or can be danger, till the bayonet is pushed at their breasts ; not that it 
proceeds from any uncommon prowess, but rather from an unaccountable kind 
of stupidity in the lower class of these people, which, believe me, prevails but 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 8o 

But while politicians plundered the government at "Washing- 
ton, and contractors grew rich in a single day, and a fictitious 
prosperity dazzled the eyes of the observer in the cities of the 
North, the public finances of the Yankee government had long 
ago become desperate. It is interesting at this point to make 
a brief summary of the financial condition of the North by 

too generally among the officers of the Massachusetts part of the army, who are 
nearly of the same kidney with the private, and adds not a little to my difficul- 
ties, as there is no such thing as getting officers of this stamp to exert them- 
selves in carrying orders into execution. To curry favor with the men (by whom 
they were chosen, and on whose smiles possibly they may think they may again 
rely) seems to be one of the principal objects of their attention. I submit it, 
therefore, to your consideration, whether there is, or is*iot, a propriety in that 
resolution of the Congress which leaves the ultimate appointment of all officers 
below the rank of general to the governments where the regiments originated, 
now the army is become Continental ? To me it appears improper in two points 
of view — first, it is giving that power and weight to an individual colony which 
ought of right to belong to the whole. Then it damps the spirit and ardor of 
volunteers from all but the four New England governments, as none but their 
people have the least chance of getting into office. Would it not be better, 
therefore, to have the warrants, which the Commander-in-chief is authorized to 
give pro tempore, approved or disapproved by the Continental Congress, or a com- 
mittee of their body, which I should suppose in any long recess must always sit ? 
In this case, every gentleman will stand an equal chance of being promoted, 
according to his merit ; in the other, all offices will be confined to the inhabit- 
ants of the four New England governments, which, in my opinion, is impolitic 
to a degree. I have made a pretty good slam among such kind of officers as the 
Massachusetts government abounds in since I came to this camp, having broken 
one colonel and two captains for cowardly behavior in the action on Bunker's 
Hill, two captains for drawing more provisions and pay than they had men in 
their company, and one for being absent from his post when the enemy appeared 
there and burnt a house just by it. Besides these, I have at this time one colo- 
nel, one major, one captain, and two subalterns under arrest for trial. In short, 
I spare none, and yet fear it will not all do, as these people seem to be too inat- 
tentive to every thing but their interest. 

******** * 

There have been so many great and capital errors and abuses to rectify — so 
many examples to make, and so little inclination in the officers of inferior rank 
to contribute their aid to accomplish this work, that my life has been nothing 
else (since I came here) but one continual round of vexation and fatigue. In 
short, no pecuniary recompense could induce me to undergo what I have ; espe- 
cially, as I expect, by showing so little countenance to irregularities and public 
abuses as to render myself very obnoxious to a great part of these people. But 
as I have already greatly exceeded the bounds of a letter, I will not trouble you 
with matters relative to my own feelings. 

Your aifectionate friend and obedient servant, 

(Signed) GEO. WASHINGTON. 

Richard Henry Lee, Esq. 



86 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 

a comparison of its public debt with tlie assets of the govern- 
ment. 

The debt of the present United States, audited and float- 
ing, calculated from data up to June 30, 1862, was at least 
$1,300,000,000. The daily expenses, as admitted by the 
Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, was between 
three and four millions of dollars ; the debt, in one year from 
this time, could not be less than two thousand five hundred 
millions of dollars. 

Under the census of 1860, all the property of every kind 
in all the States was estimated at less than $12,500,000,000. 
Since the war commenced, the depreciation has been at least 
one-fourth — $3,175,000,000. From $9,375,000,000 deduct 
the property in the seceded States, at least one-third — 
$3,125,000,000 ; — leaving, in the present United States, 
$6,250,000,000. 

It will thus be seen, that the present debt of the IS'orth was 
one-fifth of all the property of every kind it possesses ; and in 
one year more it would probably be more than one-third. No 
people on earth had ever been plunged in so large a debt in 
so short a time. No government in existence had so large a 
debt in proportion to the amount of property held by its 
people. 

In continuing the narrative of the campaign in Yirginia, we 
shall have to observe the remarkable exasperation with which 
the North re-entered upon this campaign, and to notice many 
deeds of blackness which illustrated the temper in which she 
determined to prosecute the desperate fortunes of the war. 
The military authorities of the North seemed to suppose that 
better success would attend a savage war, in which no quarter 
was to be given and no agfe or sex spared, than had hitherto 
been secured to such hostilities as are alone recognized to be 
lawful by civilized men in modern times. It is not necessary 
to comment at length upon this fallacy. Brutality in war was 
mistaken for vigor. War is not emasculated by the observ- 
ances of civilization ; its vigor and success consist in the 
resources of generalship, the courage of troops, the moral 
ardors of its cause. To attempt to make up for deficiency 
in these great and noble elements of strength by mere brutal 
severities — such as pillage, assassination, &c. — is absurd ; it 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 87 

reduces the idea of war to the standard of the brigand ; it 
offends the moral sentiment of the world, and it excites its 
enemy to the last stretch of determined and desperate exertion. 

There had long been a party in the North who mistook bru- 
tality in war for vigor, and clamored for a policy which was 
to increase the horrors of hostilities by arming the slaves, and 
making the invaded country of the South the prey of white 
brigands and " loyal" negroes. This party was now in the 
ascendency. It had already obtained important concessions 
from the Washington government. Nine-tenths of the legis- 
lation of the Yankee Congress had been occupied in some form 
or other with the question of slavery. Universal emancipation 
in the South, and the utter overthrow of all property, was now 
the declared policy of the desperate and demented leaders of 
the war. The Confiscatioh Bill, enacted at tlie close of the 
session of Congress, confiscated all the slaves belonging to 
those wlio were loyal to the South, constituting nine- tenths at 
least of the slaves in the Confederate States. In the Border 
States occupied by the North, slavery was plainly doomed 
under a plan of emancipation proposed by Mr. Lincoln with 
the flimsy and ridiculous pretence of compensation to slave- 
holders.* 

These concessions to the radical party in the North excited 
new demands. The rule which was urged upon the govern- 
ment, and which the government hastened to accept, was to 

* According to the census of 1860 — 

Kentucky had 225,490 slaves. 

Maryland 87,188 " 

Virginia 490,887 " 

Delaware 1,798 " 

Missouri 114,965 " 

Tennessee 275,784 " 

Making in the whole 1,196,112 " 

At the proposed rate of valuation, these would amount to $358,833,600 

Add for deportation and colonization $100 each 119,244.533 

And we have the enormous sum of $478,078,183 

It is scarcely to be supposed that a proposition could be made in good faith, or 
that in any event the proposition could be otherwise than worthless, to add this 
vast amount to the public debt of the North at a moment when the treasury was 
ceeling under the enormous expenditures of the war. 



00 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAK. 

spare no means, however brutal, to contest the fortunes of the 
war, and to adopt every invention of torture for its enemy. 
The slaves were to be armed and carried in battalions against 
their masters. The invaded country of the South was to be 
pillaged, wasted, and burnt ; the Northern troops, like Imngiy 
locusts, were to destroy every thing green ; the people in the 
invaded districts were to belaid under contributions, comjjclled 
to do the work of slaves, kept in constant terror of their lives, 
and fire, famine, and slaughter were to be the portion of the 
conquered. 

Before the eyes of Europe the mask of civilization had been 
taken from the Yankee war ; it degenerated into unbridled 
butchery and robbery. But the nations of Europe, which 
boasted themselves as humane and civilized, had yet no inter- 
ference to ofifer in a war which shocked the senses and appealed 
to the common offices of humanity. It is to be observed, that 
during the entire continuance of the war up to this time, the 
British government had acted with reference to it in a spirit 
of selfish and inhuman calculation ; and there is, indeed, but 
little doubt that an early recognition of the Confederacy by 
France was thwarted by the interference of that cold and 
sinister government, that ever pursues its ends by indirection, 
and perfects its hypocrisy under the specious cloak of extreme 
conscientiousness. No greater delusion could have possessed 
the people of the South than that the govermneiit of England 
was friendly to them. That government, which prided itself 
on its cold and ingenious selfishness, seemed to have discovered 
a much larger source of profit in the continuation of the Amer- 
ican war than it could possibly derive from a pacification of 
the contest. It was willing to see its operatives starving and 
to endure the distress of a " cotton famine," that it might have 
the ultimate satisfaction, which it anticipated, of seeing both 
parties in the American war brought to the point of exhaus- 
tion, and its own greatness enlarged on the ruins of a hated 
commercial rival. The calculation was far-reaching; it was 
characteristic of a government that secretly laughed at all sen- 
timent, made an exact science of selfishness, and scorned the 
weakness that would sacrifice for any present good the larger 
fruits of the future. 

This malevolent and venomous spirit of anti-slavery in the 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 89 

war pervaded the whole of N"orthern society. It was not only 
the utterance of such mobs as, in New York city, adopted as 
their war-cry against the South, " kill all the inhabitants /" 
it found expression in the political measures, military orders, 
and laws of the government ; it invaded polite society, and 
was taught not only as an element of patriotism, but as a vir- 
tue of religion. The characteristic religion of New England, 
composed of about equal quantities of blasphemy and balder- 
dash, went hand in hand with the war. Some of these pious 
demonstrations were curious, and bring to remembrance the 
fanaticism and rhapsodies of the old Puritans.* 

The Yankee army chaplains in Virginia alternatel}'^ disgusted 
and amused the country with the ferocious rant with which they 
sought to inspire the crusade against the South. One of these 
pious missionaries in Winchester, after the regular Sunday ser- 
vice, announced to the assembled Yankee troops an imaginary 
victory in front of Richmond, and then called for " three cheers 
and a tiger, and Yankee Doodle." In a sermon preached near 
the enemy's camp of occupation, the chaplain proclaimed the 
mission of freeing the negroes. He told them they were free, 
and that, as the property amassed by their masters was the 
fruit of the labors of the blacks, these had the best title to it 



* No one afifected the peculiarity of the Puritans more than Gov. Andrews, of 
Massachusetts. The following pious rant is quoted from one of his speeches at 
Worcester ; in blasphemy and bombast it equals any of the fulminations of the 
" Pilgrim Fathers" — 

" I know that the angel of the Lord, one foot on the earth and one on the 
sea, will proclaim in unanswerable language, that four millions of bondmen 
shall ere long be slaves no longer. We live in a war, not a riot ; as we thought 
last year, with a half million iu the field against an atrocious and rebellious foe. 
Our government now recognizes it as a war, and the President of the United 
States, fulminating his war-orders, has blown a blast before which the enemy 
must fly. Eebellion must fall, and they who have stood upon the necks of so 
many bondsmen shall be swept away, and four million souls rise to immortality. 

" Ah, foul tyrants ! do you hear him where he comes ? » 

Ah, black traitors ! do you know him as he comes ? 
In the thunder of the cannon and the roll of the drums, 
As we go marching on. 

" Men may die and moulder in the dust — 
Men may die and arise again from the dust, 
Shoulder to shoulder in the ranks of the just, 
When God is marchivg on." 



90 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

and should help themselves. At another ])l;ice, near the scene 
of the execution of John Brown for violation of law, sedition, 
and murder, a sermon was preached by an army chaplain on 
some text enjoining " the mission of proclaiming liberty ;" and 
the hymn given out and sung was — 

"John Brown's body hangs dangling in the air, 
Sing glory, glory, hallelujah !" 

These, however, were but indications displayed of a spirit in 
the Nortli, which, with reference to the practical conduct of the 
war, were serious enough. 

By a general order of the Washington government, the 
military commanders of that government, within the States of 
Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas, were directed to seize 
and use any property, real or personal, belonging to the in- 
habitants of this Confederacy which might be necessary or con- 
venient for their several commands, and no provision was made 
for an}^ compensation to the owners of private property thus 
seized and appropriated by the military commanders of the 
enemy. 

But it was reserved for the enemy's army in Northern Yir- 
giiiia to exceed all that had hitherto been known of the savage 
cruelty of the Yankees, and to convert the hostilities hitherto 
M'aged against armed forces into a campaign of robbery and 
murder against unarmed citizens and peaceful tillers of the 
soil. 

On the 23d of July, 1862, Gen. Pope, commanding the 
forces of the enemy in Northern Virginia, published an order 
requiring that " all commanders of any army corps, divisions, 
brigades, and detached commands, will proceed immediately 
to arrest all disloyal male citizens within their lines, or within 
their reach, in rear of their respective commands. Such as 
are willing to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, 
and will furnish sufficient security for its observance, shall be 
permitted to remain at their homes and pursue in good faith 
their accustomed avocations. Those who refuse shall be con- 
ducted South, beyond the extreme pickets of this army, and be 
notified that, if found again anj'where within our lines, or at 
any point in rear, they shall be considered spies and subjected 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 91 

to the extreme rigor of military law. If any person, having 
taken the oath of allegiance as above specified, be found to 
have violated it, he shall be shot, and his property seized and 
applied to the public use." 

By another order of Brigadier-general Stein wehr in Pope's 
command, it was proposed to hold under arrest the most prom- 
inent citizens in the districts occupied by the enemy as hos- 
tages, to suffer death in case of any of the Yankee soldiers 
being shot by " bushwhackers," by which term was meant the 
citizens of the South who had taken up arms to defend their 
homes and families. 

The Washington government had found a convenient instru- 
ment for the work of villany and brutality with which it pro- 
posed to resume the active campaign in Virginia. 

With a view to renewed operations against Richmond, large 
forces of Yankee troops were massed at Warrenton, Little 
Washington and Fredericksburg. Of these forces, entitled the 
"Army of Yirginia," the command was given to Maj.-gen. 
John Pope, who boasted that he had come from the West, 
where " he had only seen the hacks of the enemy." 

This notorious Yankee commander was a man nearly forty 
years of age, a native of Kentucky, but a citizen of Illinois. 
He was born of respectable parents. He was graduated at 
West Point in 1842, and served in the Mexican War, where 
he was breveted captain. 

In 1849 he conducted the Minnesota exploring expedition, 
and afterwards acted as topographical engineer in New Mexico, 
until 1853, when he was assigned to the command of one of 
the expeditions to survey the route of the Pacific railroad. He 
distinguished himself on the overland route to the Pacific by 
" sinking" artesian wells, and government money to the amount 
of a million of dollars. One well was finally abandoned incom- 
plete, and afterwards a perennial spring was found by other 
parties in the immediate vicinity. In a letter to Jefferson 
Davis, then Secretary of War, urging this route to the Pacific, 
and the boring these wells. Pope made himself the espeGial 
cha7njpion of the South. 

In the breaking out of the war. Pope was made a brigadier- 
general of volunteers. He held a command in Missouri for 
Bome time before he became particularly noted. When Gen. 



92 TIIK SECOND YKAR OF THE WAR. 

Halleck took charge of the disorganized department, Pope was 
placed in command of the District of Central Missouri. He 
was afterwards sent to Southeastern Missouri, The cruel dis- 
position of the man, of which his rude manners and a vulgar 
bearded face, with coarse skin, gave indications, found an 
abundant jfield for gratification in this unhappy State. His 
proceedings in Missouri will challenge a comparison with the 
most infernal record ever bequeathed by the licensed murderer 
to the abhorrence of mankind. And yet, it was his first step 
in blood — the first opportunity he had ever had to feast his 
eyes upon slaughter and regale his ears with the cries of human 
agony. 

Having been promoted to the rank of major-general. Pope 
was next appointed to act at the head of a corps to co-operate 
with Halleck in the reduction of Corinth. After the evacua- 
tion of Corinth by Gen, Beauregard, Pope was sent by Halleck 
to annoy the rear of the Confederate army, but Beauregard 
turned upon and repulsed his pursuit. The report of Pope to 
Halleck, that he had captured 10,000 of Beauregard's army, 
and 15,000 stand of arms, when he had not taken a man or a 
musket, stands alone in the history of lying. It left him with- 
out a rival in that respectable art. 

Such was the man who took command of the enemy's forces 
in Northern Yirginia. His bluster was as excessive as his 
accomplishments in falsehood. He was described in a Southern 
newspaper as " a Yankee compound of Bobadil and Munchau- 
sen," His proclamation that he had seen nothing of his ene- 
mies " but their backs," revived an ugly story in his private 
life, and gave occasion to the witty interrogatory, if the gen- 
tleman who cowhided him for offering an indignity to a lady 
was standing with his back to him when he inflicted the chas- 
tisement. Tlie fact was, that Pope had won his baton of marshal 
by bragging to the Yankee fill. He was another instance, 
besides that of Butler, how easily a military reputation might 
be made in the North by bluster, lying, and acts of coarse 
cruelty to the defenceless. On what monstrous principles he 
commenced his career in Yirginia, and what orders he issued, 
are still fresh in the public memory, 

" I desire you to dismiss from your minds certain phrases 
(said Pope to his army), which I am sorry to find much in vogue 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 93 

among jon. I hear constantly of taking strong positions and 
holding them ; of lines of retreat and bases of supplies. Let 
lis discard such ideas. The strongest position a soldier should 
desire to occupy is the one from which he can most easily ad- 
vance upon the enemy. Let us study the probable line of re- 
treat of our opponents, and leave our own to take care of itself. 
Let us look before, and not behind. Disaster and shame lurk 
in the rear." 

On establishing his headquarters at Little Washington, the 
county seat of Rappahannock, Pope became a source of mingled 
curiosity and dread to the feeble villagers. They were in a 
condition of alarm and anguish from the publication of his 
order, to banish from their homes all males who should refuse 
to take the Yankee oath of allegiance. Dr. Bisphaw of the 
village was deputed to wait upon the Yankee tyrant, and ask 
that the barbarous order be relaxed. 

He painted, at the same time, the agony of the women and 
children, and stated that the effect would be to place six new 
regiments in the rebel service. " We can't take the oath of 
allegiance," said the Doctor, " and we won't — man, woman, or 
child — but we will give a parol to attend to our own business, 
afford no communication with the South, and quietly stay upon 
our premises." 

" I shall enforce the order to the letter," said Gen. Pope. " I 
did not make it without deliberation, and if you don't take the 
oath you shall go out of my lines." 

In the short period in which Pope's army was uninterrupted 
in its career of robbery and villany in Northern Yirginia, 
every district of country invaded by him, or entered by his 
marauders, was ravaged as by a horde of barbarians. This 
portion of Yirginia will long bear the record and tradition of 
the irruption of the Northern spoilsmen. The new usage 
which had been instituted in regard to protection of Confed- 
erate property, and the purpose of the Washington government 
to subsist its troops upon the invaded country, converted the 
"Army of Yirginia" into licensed brigands, and let loose upon 
the country a torrent of unbridled and unscrupulous robbers. 
The Yankee troops appropriated remorselessly whatever came 
within their reach. They rushed in crowds upon the smoke- 
houses of the farmers. On the march through a section of 



94 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

country, every spring-house was broken open ; butter, milk, 
eggs, and cream were ingulfed ; calves and sheep, and, in 
fact, any thing and every thing serviceable for meat, or drink, 
or apparel, were not safe a moment after the approach of the 
Yankee plunderers. Wherever they camped at night, it would 
be found the next morning that scarcely an article, for which 
the fertility of a soldier could suggest the slightest use, remained 
to the owner. Pans, kettles, dishcloths, pork, poultry, provisions, 
and every thing desirable had disappeared. The place was strip- 
ped, and without any process of commissary or quartermaster. 

Whenever the Yankee soldiers advanced into a new section, 
the floodgates were immediately opened, and facsimile Con- 
federate notes (this spurious currency being manufactured in 
Philadelphia, and sold by public advertisement for a few cents 
to Yankee soldiers) were poured out upon the land.* They 
were passed indiscriminately upon the unsuspecting inhabitants, 
poor as well as rich, old and young, male and female. In fre- 
quent instances, this outrage was perpetrated in return for kind 
nursing by poor, aged women. 

These spurious notes passed readily, and seemed to be taken 
gladly for whatever was held for sale. Bank-notes and shin- 
plasters were given for change. Horses and other valuable 
property were often purchased with this bogus currency. A 
party of Yankee soldiers entered a country store, fortitied with 
exhaustless quantities of Philadelphia Confederate notes, and 

* The Northern trade in this counterfeit money was open and undisguised ; 
enticing advertisements of its profit were freely made in the Northern journals, 
and circulars were distributed through the Federal army proposing to supply the 
troops with "rebel" currency almost at the price of the paper on which the 
counterfeit was executed. We copy below one of these circulars found on the 
person of a Yankee prisoner ; the curiosity being a court paper in the possession 
of Mr. Commissioner Watson, of Richmond : 

" $20 Confederate Bond ! ! I have this day issued a facsimile $20 Confederate 
Bond— making, in all, fifteen different /ac-stwit^e Rebel Bonds, Notes, Shinplasters, 
and Postage Stamps, issued by me the past three months. 

" Trade supplied at 50 cents per 100, or $4 per 1,000. All orders by mail or 
express promptly executed. 

g^ " All orders to be sent by mail must be accompanied with 18 cents in post- 
age stamps, in addition to the above price, to prepay the postage on each 100 
ordered. Address, S. C. Upham, 

403 Chesnut Street, Philadelphia. 

" N. B.— I shall have a $100 Rebel Note out this week." 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 95 

commenced trade. Forty pounds of sugar was first ordered, 
and the storekeeper, pleased with the sudden increase of busi- 
ness, called in his wife to assist in putting up tlie order in small 
parcels. Seventy -five cents a pound was the cost. That was a 
small matter. Matches were purchased. Twenty-five cents 
per box was the charge. Tobacco also found a ready market. 
Each man provided himself with a straw hat ; but the crown- 
ing act of all was the abstraction from the till of money 
alread}^ paid to the dealer for his goods, and the purchase of 
more goods with the same spurious medium. 

Such acts of villany and the daily robberies committed by 
Pope's soldiers were very amusing to the Northern people, and 
gave them a stock of capital jokes. "I not long ago saw," 
wrote a correspondent of a Yankee newspaper, " a dozen sol- 
diers rushing headlong through a field, each anxious to get the 
first choice of three horses shading themselves quietly under a 
tree. The animals made their best time into the farthest cor- 
ner of the field Mdtli the men close upon them, and the fore- 
most men caught their prizes and bridled them as if they had 
a perfect immunity in such sort of things. A scene followed. 
A young lady came out and besought the soldiers not to take 
her favorite pony. The soldiers were remorseless and unyield- 
ing, and the pony is now in the army." 

It is not within the design of these pages to pursue the sto- 
ries of outrage, villany, and barbarism of the enemy's army 
in Yirginia; but with what we have said, intended only to 
show the spirit of that army and the character of its leader, 
we shall hasten to describe the series of events which, at last, 
confronted it with an army of avengers on the historic Plains 
of Manassas, and culminated there in a victory, which liber- 
ated Virginia from its invaders, broke the " line of the Poto- 
mac" from Leesburg to Harper's Ferry, and opened an avenue 
for the first time into the territory of the North, 

THE BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN. 

The Northern newspapers declared that Pope was right 
when he said that he was accustomed to see the backs of his 
enemy, and were busy in assuring their readers that his only 
occupation was to chase " the rebel hordes." It was said that 



96 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 

he had penetrated as far as Madison Court-house without see- 
ing any enemy. The Southern troops, it was prophesied, would 
keep on their retreat beyond the Virginia Central railroad. 
Pope's army was now as far in the interior, by overland 
marches, as any of the Yankee troops had ever been. The 
position of his advance was described as about ten miles east 
of Port Republic, with an eye on the Shenandoah Valley ; and 
it was boasted that the second Napoleon of the Yankees had 
already complete possession of the country north of the Rapi- 
dan river, and only awaited his leisure to march upon Rich- 
mond. 

These exultations were destined to a sharp and early disap- 
pointment. The Confederate authorities in Richmond knew 
that it was necessary to strike somewhere before the three hun- 
dred thousand recruits called for by the Washington govern- 
ment should be brought to the field to overwhelm them. It 
was necessary to retain in the strong works around Richmond 
a sufficient force to repulse any attack of McClellan's army ; 
but at the same time the necessity was clear to hold Pope's 
forces in check and to make an active movement against him. 
The execution of this latter purpose was intrusted to Jackson, 
the brave, eccentric, and beloved commander,* who had 
achieved so many victories against so many extraordinary 
odds and obstacles ; all the movements of the campaign being 
directed by the self-possessed, controlling, and earnest mind of 
Gen. Lee. 

The insolent enemy received his first lesson at the hands of 

* There have been a great many pen and ink portraits of the famous ' ' Stonewall' ' 
Jackson ; the singular features and eccentric manners of this popular hero afifoi'd- 
ing a fruitful subject of description and anecdote. A gentleman, who was known 
to be a rare and quick judge of character, was asked by the writer for a descrip- 
tion of Jackson, whom he had met but for a few moments on the battle-field. 
" He is a fighting man," was the reply; "rough mouth, iron jaw, and nostrils 
big as a horse's." This description has doubtless much force in it, although 
blunt and homely in its expression. The impression given by Jackson is that 
of a man perhaps forty years old, six feet high, medium size, and somewhat 
angular in person. He has yellowish-gray eyes, a Roman nose, sharp ; a thin, 
forward chin, angular brow, a close mouth, and light brown hair. The expres- 
sion of his face is to some extent imhappy, but not sullen or unsocial. He is 
impulsive, silent, and emphatic. His dress is official, but very plain, his cap-front 
resting nearly on his nose. His tall horse diminished the effect of his size, so 
that when mounted he appears less in person than he really is. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 97 

the heroic Jackson, on the wooded sides and cleared slopes of 
the mountainous country in Culpepper. In consequence of the 
advance of the Confederates beyond the Kapidan, Major-gen. 
Pope had sent forward two army corps, commanded by Gen. 
Banks, to hold them in check. 

On the evening of the 8th of August, a portion of Gen. 
Jackson's division, consisting of the, 1st, 2d, and 3d brigades, 
under the command of Gen. Charles S. Winder, crossed the 
Kapidan river, a few miles above the railroad, and, having 
advanced a mile into Culpepper county, encamped for the night. 
The next morning, the enemy being reported as advancing, our 
forces, Swell's division being in advance, moved forward on 
the main road from Orange Court-house to Culpepper Court- 
house, about three miles, and took position — our left flank rest- 
ing on the Southwest Mountain, and our artillery occupying 
several commanding positions. At 12 m., our forces commenced 
cannonading, which was freely responded to by the enemy, 
who did not seem ready for the engagement, which they had 
affected to challenge. Indeed, some strategy seemed necessary 
to bring them to fight. About 3 p. m., Gen. Early's brigade 
(Ewell's division) made a circuit through the woods, attacking 
the enemy on their right flank, the 13th Virginia regiment be- 
ing in the advance as skirmishers. At 4 o'clock the firing be- 
gan, and soon the fight became general. As Gen. Jackson's 
division, then commanded by Gen. Winder, was rapidly pro- 
ceeding to the scene of action, the enemy, guided by the dust 
made by the artillery, shelled the road with great precision. 
It was by this shell that the brave Winder was killed. His 
left arm shattered, and his side also wounded, he survived but 
an hour. At a still later period, a portion of Gen. A, P. HilPs 
division was engaged. The battle was mainly fought in a 
large field near Mrs. Crittenden's house, a portion being open^ 
and the side occupied by the Yankees being covered with lux- 
uriant corn. Through this corn, when our forces were consid- 
erably scattered, two Yankee cavalry regiments made a desper- 
ate charge, evidently expecting utterly to disorganize our lines. 
The result was precisely the reverse. Our men rallied, ceased 
to fire on the infantry, and, concentrating their attention on 
the cavalry, poured into their ranks a fire which emptied many 
a saddle, and caused the foe to wheel and retire, which, how- 

7 



98 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

ever, they effected without breaking their columns. For some 
time the tide of victory ebbed and flowed, but about dark the 
foe finally broke and retreated in confusion to the woods, leav- 
ing their dead and many of their wounded, with a large quan- 
tity of arms and ammunition, upon the field. Daylight faded, 
and the moon in her full glory appeared, just as the terrors of 
the raging battle gave way to the sickening scenes of a field 
where a victory had been won. 

The battle of Cedar Mountain, as it was entitled, may be 
characterized as one of the most rapid and severe engagements 
of the war. In every particular it was a sanguinary and des- 
perate struggle, and resulted in a complete and decisive victory 
for our arms. Our forces engaged amounted to about eight 
thousand, while those of the enemy could not have been less 
than fifteen thousand. Our loss was near six hundred killed, 
wounded, and missing ; that of the enemy little, if any, less than 
two thousand. We captured nearly five hundred prisoners, over 
fifteen hundred stand of arms, two splendid Napoleon guns, 
twelve wagon-loads of ammunition, several wagon-loads of new 
and excellent clothing, and drove the enemy two miles beyond 
the field of battle, which we held for two days and nights. 

The battle was remarkable for an extraordinary and terrific 
" artillery duel." In fact, the fire was conducted with artil- 
lery alone for more than three hours. The opposing batteries 
unlimbered so close to each other that, during the greater part 
of the firing, they used grape and canister. Those working 
our battery could distinctly hear the hum of voices of the in- 
fantry support of the Federal battery. The Louisiana Guard 
artillery and the Purcell battery were ordered to take position 
and open on the enemy from the crest of a hill. Here they 
found themselves opposed by five batteries of the enemy within 
short range. The battle raged fiercely, the enemy firing with 
great precision. The accuracy of our fire was proved by the 
fact that the enemy, though their guns were more than twice 
as numerous, were compelled to shift the position of their bat- 
teries five diflferent times. Once during the fight, the enemy's 
sharpshooters, under cover of a piece of woods, crept up within 
a short distance of our batteries and opened on them, but were 
instantly scattered by a discharge of canister from one of the 
howitzers. 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 99 

The battle of Cedar Mountain was the natural preface to 
that larger and severer contest of arms which was to baptize, 
for a second time, the field of Manassas with the blood of 
Southern patriots, and illuminate it with the splendid scenes 
of a decisive victory. It convinced the North of the necessity 
of a larger scale of exertion and a concentration of its forces 
in Virginia to effect its twice-foiled advance upon the capital 
of the Confederacy. It was decided by the Washington gov- 
ernment to recall McClellan's army from the Peninsula, to 
unite his columns with those of Pope, to include also the forces 
at Fredericksburg, and, banding these in a third Grand Army 
more splendid than its predecessors, to make one concentrated 
endeavor to retrieve its unfortunate summer campaign in Yir- 
ginia, and plant its banners in the city of Richmond. 

Not many days elapsed before the evacuation of Berkeley 
and Westover, on the James river, was signalled to the au- 
thorities of Richmond by the large fleet of transports collected 
on the James and the Rappahannock. It became necessary to 
meet the rapid movements of the enemy by new dispositions of 
our forces; not a day was to be lost; and by the 17th of Au- 
gust, General Lee had assembled in front of Pope a force suffi- 
cient to contest his further advance, and to balk his threatened 
passage of the Rapidan. 

After the battle of Cedar Mountain, the forces under Stone- 
wall Jackson withdrew from the vicinity of the Rapidan, and 
were for some days unheard of, except that a strong force was 
in the vicinity of Madison Court-house, some twelve miles to 
the westward, in the direction of Luray and the Shenandoah 
valley ; but it was supposed by the enemy that this was only a 
wing of the army under Ewell, intended to act as reserves to 
Jackson's army, and to cover his retreat back to Gordonsville. 
Not so, however. Those forces of Ewell, as afterwards dis- 
covered by the Yankees to their great surprise, were the main 
body of Jackson's army, en route for the Shenandoah valley. 

It was probably the design of Gen. Lee, witk the bulk of 
the Confederate army, to take the front, left, and right, and 
engage Gen. Pope at or near the Rapidan, while Jackson and 
Ewell were to cross the Shenandoah river and mountains, cut 
off his supplies by way of the railroad, and menace his rear. 
The adventure, on the part of Jackson, was difficult and des- 



lUO THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

perate ; it took the risk of any new movements of Pope, by 
which he (Jackson) himself might be cut off. It was obvious, 
indeed, that if Pope could reach Gordonsville, he would cut off 
Jackson's supplies, but in this direction he was to be confronted 
by Gen. Lee with the forces withdrawn from Richmond. With 
the movement of Jackson the object was to keep Pope between 
the Rapidan and the Rappahannock rivers until Jackson had 
attained his position at Manassas, or perhaps at Rappahannock 
bridge ; but Pope's retreat to the Rappahannock's north bank 
frustrated that design, and rendered it necessary for General 
Lee to follow up his advantage, and, by a system of feints, to 
take Pope's attention from his rear and divert it to his front. 

On Monday, the 28th of August, at daybreak. Gen. Jack- 
son's corps, consisting of Gen. Ewell's division, Gen. Hill's 
division, and Gen. Jackson's old division, under command of 
Gen. Taliaferro, and a force of cavalry under Gen. Stuart, 
marched from Jeffersonton, in Culpepper county, and crossed 
the Rappahannock eight miles above that place, and marched 
by Orleans to Salem, in Fauquier. The next day they passed 
through Tlioroughfare Gap, of Bull Run Mountains, to Bristow 
and Manassas stations, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, 
effecting a complete surprise of the enemy, capturing a large 
number of prisoners, several trains of cars, and immense com- 
missary and quartermaster stores, and several pieces of artil- 
lery. The distance marched in these two days was over fifty 
miles. On Wednesday, Manassas station was occuj)ied by 
Jackson's old division, while Ewell occupied Bristow, and Hill 
and Stuart dispersed the force sent from Alexandria to attack 
what the enemy supposed to be only a cavalry force. 

The amount of property which fell into our hands at Manas- 
sas was immense — several trains heavily laden with stores, ten 
first-class locomotives, fifty thousand pounds of bacon, one 
thousand barrels of beef, two thousand barrels of pork, several 
thousand barrels of flour, and a large quantity of oats and corn. 
A bakery, which was daily turning out fifteen thousand loaves 
of bread, was also destroyed. Next to Alexandria, Manassas 
was probably the largest depot established for the Northern 
army in Yirginia. 

The movement of Jackson, which we have briefly sketched, 
IS the chief element of the situation in which the decisive en- 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 101 

gagements of Manassas were fonght. In this connection it 
must be studied ; it was the brilliant strategic preface to the 
most decisive victory yet achieved on the theatre of the war. 
The corps of Jackson, having headed off the Federal army 
under Pope, had now possession of Manassas Plains. It had 
accomplished its design, which was to force Pope back — de- 
prive him completely of direct communication with "Washing- 
ton or Alexandria, and eventually induce his surrender or an- 
nihilation. 

The principal and anxious topic in the North was, by what 
eccentric courses the famous Confederate commander had man- 
aged to get around the right wing of Pope's army, when it was 
supposed — and in fact the hasty exultation had already been 
caught up in the Yankee newspa23ers — that it was the " rebel" 
general who was cut off, and that he would probably make a 
desperate retreat into the mountains to escape the terrors of 
Pope. Indeed, it was some time before the full and critical 
meaning of the situation dawned upon the prejudiced mind of 
the Northern public. The idea was indulged that the capture 
of Manassas was only a successful raid by a body of rebel 
guerillas ; and so it was dismissed by the newspapers, with a 
levity characteristic of their insolence and ignorance. 

Weak and credulous as Gen. Pope was, it is probable that 
the moment he heard that Jackson was in his rear, he was 
satisfied that it was no raid. The situation had been changed 
almost in a moment. Pope had evacuated Warrenton Junc- 
tion, and was moving along the railroad upon Manassas, anx- 
ious to secure his "line of retreat," and expecting, doubtless, 
with no little confidence, by rapid marches of a portion of his 
forces by the turnpike upon Gainesville, to intercept any rein- 
forcements by the way of Tlioroughfare Gap to Jackson, and 
to fall upon and crush him by the weight of numbers. A por- 
tion of the Confederate army now fronted to the South, and the 
Federal army towards Washington. The latter had been swol- 
len by reinforcements, and the advance corps from Burnside 
was marching on rapidly from Fredericksburg to complete the 
amassment on the Federal side. 

Although the situation of Gen. Pope was one unexpected by 
himself, and surrounded by many embarrassments, he yet had 
many circumstances of advantage in which to risk a great and 



102 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

decisive battle. The New York journals persisted in declaring 
tliat it was not the infallible Pope, but the " rebel" army that 
was " in a tight place." At any rate, Pope was not in the 
situation in which McClellan found himself when his right wing 
was turned by the Confederates in front of Richmond — that 
is, without supports or reinforcements. On the contrary, on 
his right, and on the way up from Fredericksburg, was the 
new army of the Potomac under Burnside : while advancing 
forward from Alexandria was the newly organized army of 
Virginia under McClellan. Such was the array of force that 
threatened the army we had withdrawn from Richmond, and 
in which the Northern populace indulged the prospect of a 
certain and splendid victory. 

An encounter of arms of vital consequence was now to en- 
sue on the already historic and famous Plains of Manassas — 
the beautiful stretch of hill and dale reaching as far as Cen- 
treville, varied by amphitheatres — an admirable battle ground ; 
with the scenery of wliich the Southern troops associated the 
exciting thoughts of a former victory and a former shedding 
of the blood of their beloved and best on the memorable and 
consecrated spots that marked the field of battle. 

THE ENGAGEMENT OF WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH OF AUGUST. 

On Wednesday, the 2Tth, an attack was made by the enemy 
upon Bristow station, and also at Manassas Junction. 

On the morning of that day, at about eleven o'clock. Gen. 
Taylor's brigade, of Major-gen. Slocum's division of the 
army of the Potomac, consisting of the first, second, third, 
and fourth New Jersey regiments, were ordered to proceed to 
Manassas by rail from their camp near Fort Ellsworth, Alex- 
andria. 

The brigade arrived at Bull Run bridge about seven o'clock 
in the morning. The troops landed and crossed the bridge 
with as little delay as possible, and marched towards Manassas. 
After ascending the hill emerging from the valley of Bull Run, 
they encountered a line of skirmishers of the Confederates, 
which fell back before them. The brigade marched on in the 
direction of Manassas, not seeing any of the enemy until within 
range of the circular series of fortifications around the Junction, 



THE SECOND YEAB OF THE WAR. 103 

when heavy artillery was opened upon them from all direc- 
tions. Gen. Taylor retired beyond the range of our guns to 
the rear of a sheltering crest of ground, from which he was 
driven by our infantry. Crossing at Blackburn's ford, he was 
pursued by our horse artillery, which fired into him, creating 
the utmost havoc. The brigade retreated in a disorganized 
mass of flying men towards Fairfax ; it was pursued by our 
eager troops beyond Centreville, and the track of the flying 
and cowardly enemy was marked with his dead. 

The flight of the enemy was attended by the most wild and 
terrible scenes, as he was pursued by our horse artillery, pour- 
ing canister into his ranks. The brigade was almost annihi- 
lated. Gen. Taylor himself, his son on his staff, and his nephew, 
were wounded ; also one-half of his officers. 

At 3 o'clock, p. M., of the same day, the enemy attacked 
Gen. Ewell, at Bristow, and that general, after a handsome 
little fight, in which he punished the enemy severely, retired 
across Muddy Run, as had previously been agreed upon, to 
Manassas Junction. This attack was made by the division of 
the enemy commanded by Gen. Hooker, which was dispatched 
to that point and detached from the advancing forces of Pope, 
who, of course, claimed the result of the affair as a signal 
Federal success. 

MOVEMENT'S OF THURSDAY, THE TWENTY-EIGHTH OF AUGUST. 

After sunset, on Thursday, Gen. Jackson accomplished one 
of the most beautiful and masterly strategic movements of the 
war. He found himself many miles in advance of the rest of 
our army. The enemy might throw his immense columns be- 
tween him and Longstreet — Alexandria and Washington was 
to his rear when he turned to attack the enemy. He deter- 
mined to throw himself upon the enemy's flank, to preserve 
the same nearness to Alexandria, to place himself within sup- 
port of the remainder of our army, and to occupy a position 
from which he could not be driven, even if support did not ar- 
rive in time. All this he accomplished that night, after de- 
stroying the stores, buildings, cars, &c., and burning the rail- 
road bridges over Muddy Run and Bull Run. He marched at 
night with his entire force from Manassas station to Manassas 



104 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 

battle-field, crossing the Warrenton turnpike, and placing his 
troops in such position that he conld confront the enemy should 
they attempt to advance by the Warrenton pike or by the Sud- 
ley road and ford, and have the advantage of communicating 
by the Aldic road with Longstreet, should he not have passed 
the Thoroughfare Gap, and at all events gain for himself a 
safe position for attack or defence. At seven o'clock, a. m., 
on Friday, Gren. Stuart encountered the enemy's cavalry near 
Gainesville, on the Warrenton pike, and drove them back ; 
and during the morning the 2d brigade of Gen. Taliaferro's 
division, under Colonel Bradley Johnson, again repulsed them. 
It was now ascertained that the enemy's column was advancing 
(or retreating) from Warrenton, along the line of the railroad 
and by way of the Warrenton turnpike, and that they intended 
to pass a part of their force over the Stone bridge and Sudley 
ford. Gen. Jackson immediately ordered Gen. Taliaferro to 
advance with his division to attack their left flank, which was 
advancing towards Sudley Mill. Gen. Ewell's division marched 
considerably in the rear of the 1st division. After marching 
some three miles, it was discovered that the enemy had aban- 
doned the idea of crossing at Sudley, and had left the War- 
renton pike to the left, beyond Groveton, and were apparently 
cutting a'cross to the railroad through the fields and woods. 
In a few minutes, however, he advanced across the turnpike to 
attack us, and Jackson's army was thrown forward to meet 
him. 

From this sketch of the movements of the corps commanded 
by Gen. Jackson, it will be seen that though a portion of our 
forces, under Gens. Ewell and Jackson, were on Tuesday and 
a part of Wednesday, the 26th and 27th of August, on the 
Orange and Alexandria railroad, between Pope and Alexandria, 
on the approach of Pope from Warrenton they withdrew to the 
west, and halted in the vicinity of the Warrenton turnpike, ex- 
pecting to be rejoined by Longstreet, where they awaited the 
approach of the enemy and delivered him battle. 

THE BATTLE OF FKEDAY, THE TWF:NrY-NINTH OF AUGUST. 

Tlie conflict of Friday occuri-ed near the village of Groveton, 
our right resting just above and near the village, and the left 



THE SKCOND YKAK OF THE WAR. 105 

upon the old battle-field of Manassas. The division of Gen. 
Anderson had not yet arrived, and the corps of Longstreet had 
not been fully placed in position. The enemy, probably aware 
of our movements, selected this opportunity to make an attack 
upon Jackson, hoping thereby to turn our left, destroy our 
combinations, and disconcert the plans which had already be- 
'jome apparent to the Federal commanders. 

Gen. Longstreet's passage of the Thoroughfare Gap, in the 
face of a force of two thousand of the enemy, is one of the 
most remarkable incidents of the late operations in Northern 
Virginia. The Gap is a wild, rude opening through the Bull 
Run Mountains, varying in width from one hundred to two 
hundred yards. A rapid stream of water murmurs over the 
rocks of the rugged defile, along which runs a stony winding 
road. On either side arisd the mountains, those on the left 
presenting their flat, precipitous faces to the beholder, with 
here and there a shrub jutting out and relieving the monoto- 
nous gray of the rocky mass ; and those on the right covered 
thickly with timber, impassable to any but the most active men. 
The strong position afl^'orded by this pass, which miglit have 
been held against almost any force by a thousand determined 
troops and a battery of artillery, had been possessed by the 
enemy, who had planted his batteries at various points and 
lined the sides of the mountains with his skirmishers. As it 
was, the passage was effected by Longstreet's division with the 
loss of only three men wounded. Tliis result was accomplished 
by a decisive piece of strategy, by which a small column of 
three brigades — Pryor's, Wilcox's and Featherstone's, and two 
batteries of rifle pieces— were thrown through Hopewell Gap, 
some three miles to the left of Thoroughfare Gap, as we ap- 
proached Manassas. 

Under Jackson and Longstreet, the details of the plan of 
Gen. Lee had been so far carried out in every respect. For 
ten daj^s or more the troops of both of these generals in the 
advance were constantly under fire. The former had been en- 
gaged in no less thaii four serious fights. Many of the men 
were barefooted, in rags; provided with only a single blanket 
as a protection against the heavy dews and severe cold at night; 
frequently they wonld get nothing from dayliglit to daylight; 
rations at best consisted of bxead and water, with a rare and 



106 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

economical interiiiingHiig of bacon ; and the troops were in 
what at an}^ other time they would have cliaracterized as a suf- 
fering condition. Notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, 
not a murmur of complaint had been heard ; marches of twenty, 
and in one instance of thirty, miles a day had been patiently 
endured, and the spirit of the army, so far from being broken, 
was elevated to a degree of enthusiasm which foreboded nothing 
but the victory it won. 

On the morning of the 29th, the Washington Artillery of 
New Orleans and several other batteries were planted upon a 
high hill that commanded the extensive ground over which the 
enemy were advancing, and just in front of this, perhaps a 
little to the left, the light began. The Federals threw forward 
a heavy column, supported by field batteries, and under cover 
of their lire made a bold stroke to divide our line. The blow 
fell upon a portion of Ewell's troops, who were concealed be- 
hind the embankment of a railroad ; but no sooner had the 
enemy appeared within close range, than they received a ter- 
ribly galling fire, which drove them panic-stricken from that 
portion of the field. As they ran, our artillery opened upon 
the flying mass with shell and round shot. Every ball could 
be seen taking eflfect. The enemy fell by scores, until finally 
the once beautiful line melted confusedly into the woods. Again 
they I'enewed the attack, and gradually the fight became gen- 
eral along nearly the entire column of Jackson. 

As the afternoon progressed, however, Gen. Lee discovered 
that strong Yankee reinforcements were coming up, and he 
accordingly ordered the division of Gen. Hood, belonging to 
Long-street's corps, to make a demonstration on the enemy's 
left. This was done, perhaps an hour before dark, and the 
moment they became engaged the difierence became percep- 
tible at a glance. Jackson, thus strengthened, fought with re- 
newed vigor, and the enemy, not knowing the nature of the 
reinforcements, and diverted by our onset, which compelled 
him to change his lines, was proportionately weakened. The 
result was, that at dark Hood's division had driven the forces 
in front of them three-quarters of a mile from our starting- 
point, and, had it not been for the lateness of the hour, might 
have turned the defeat into an utter rout. 

The conflict had been terrific. Our troops were advanced 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. lOT 

several times during the fight, but the enemy fought with des- 
peration, and did not retire until nine o'clock at night, when 
they sullenly left the field to the Confederates. During the 
night orders came from head-quarters for our troops to fall back 
to their original positions, preparatory to our renewal of the 
action in the morning. It might have been this simple retro- 
grade movement which led to the mendacious dispatch sent by 
Pope to Washington, stating that he had whipped our army, 
and driven us from the field,* but confessing that the Federal 
loss was eight thousand in killed and wounded. 

THE BATTLE OF SATURDAY, THE THIRTIETH OF AUGUST. 

Tlie grand day of the prolonged contest was yet to dawn. 
For two days each wing of our army under Generals Long- 
street and Jackson had repulsed with vigor attacks made on 
them separately. Gen. Pope had concentrated the greater 
portion of the array under his command for a desperate re- 
newal of the attack on our lines. Friday night found those of 
our men who were not engaged in burying the dead and bring- 
ing away the wounded, sleeping upon their arms. All the 
troops of Longstreet's corps, with the exception of Gen. R. H. 
Anderson's, which was only three or four miles in the rear, had 
taken their places in the line of battle, and every one looked 
forward to the events of the coming day, the anticipations of 
which had sustained our soldiers under the terrible fatigue, 
discomforts, and deprivations of the ten days' tedious march, 
by which reinforcements had at last reached the heroic and 
unyielding Jackson. 

With the first streak of daylight visible through the light 
mist that ascended from the woods, our men were under arms. 
The pickets of the two armies were within a few hundred yards 
of each other. Every circumstance indicated that the battle 
would commence at an early hour in the morning. The waking 



* It appears that Gen. R. H. Anderson's division, which came down the turn- 
pike on their way to Sudley Church, where they had been ordered the day be- 
fore, were stopped by our pickets, and told that the enemy were in strong force 
immediately in front. The general countermarched his division, wagons, and 
artillery, and fell back in rear of Longstreet for the night. It is probable that 
the enemy, seeing this, supposed it to be the falling back of our whole army. 



108 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of a portion of our batteries into life soon after daylight, and 
the frequent cannonading thereafter, the almost incessant skir- 
mishing in front, with its exciting volleys of musketry, all 
conspired to produce this impression. 

Our line of battle was an obtuse crescent in shape, and at 
least five miles long. Jackson's line, which formed our left, 
stretched from Sudley, on Bull Run, along the partly exca- 
vated track of the Manassas Independent line of railroad, for a 
portion of the way, and thence towards a point on the Warr%n- 
ton turnpike, about a mile and a half in rear or west of Grove- 
ton. His extreme right came within about six hundred yards 
of the turnpike. 

Longstreet's command, which formed our right wing, ex- 
tended from the point near the turnpike on which Jackson's 
right flank rested, and prolonged the line of battle far to the 
right, stretching beyond the line of the Manassas Gap railroad. 

It is thus seen that a point on the Warren ton turnpike, a 
mile and a half west of Groveton, was the centre of our posi- 
tion, and the apex of our crescent, whose convexity was to- 
wards the west. It was here, in an interval between Jackson's 
right and Longstreet's left that our artillery was placed. Eight 
batteries were planted on a commanding elevation. 

The enemy's line of battle conformed itself to ours, and took, 
therefore, a crescent form, of which the centre or more ad- 
vanced portion was at Groveton, whence the wings declined 
obliquely to the right and left. Their batteries were in rear 
of their infantry, and occupied the hills which they had held 
in the tight of July, 1861, but pointed differently. 

The disposition of the enemy's forces was. Gen. Heintzel- 
man on the extreme right and Gen. McDowell on the extreme 
left, while the army corps of Generals Fitz John Porter and 
Seigel, and Reno's division of Gen. Burnside's army, were 
placed in the centre. 

Tlie elevation occupied by our artillery, under command of 
Col. Stephen D. Lee, of South Carolina, was the most com- 
manding ground that could have been selected for the purpose. 
It was about the centre of the entire army. To the front, the 
land breaks beautifully into hill and dale, forming a sort of 
amphitheatre. Around the field, and occasionally shooting 
into it in narrow bauds, are heavy woods. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 109 

Early in tlie morning the immense masses of the enemy's 
infantry were seen in line of battle, and far in the distance 
immense clouds of dust filled the heavens. During this tune 
our batteries were pitching their shot and shell into the Fed- 
eral ranks, and returning the fire of their artillery on the brow 
of an opposite hill. Sometimes it was fierce, but generally it 
was a deliberate interchange of fire. 

About 1 A. M. a regiment advanced rapidly on the enemy's 
left, determined to drive out our pickets from an orchard, 
where all the morning they had been keeping up a brisk fire. 
This efi'ort succeeded, and our brave sharpshooters retired 
through the orchard in good order. As soon as they got well 
out of the way, our batteries opened upon the enemy, and in 
ten minutes they were retreating, sheltering themselves in the 
ravines and behind a barn. At 2 o'clock the forces that had 
been moving almost the whole day towards our left, began to 
move in the opposite direction, and it appeared that they were 
retiring towards Manassas, two or three miles distant. Several 
attempts were now made to advance upon our left like those 
to drive in our pickets on our right, but a few shells served to 
scatter the skirmishers and drive them into the woods that 
skirted this beautiful valley on either hand. When it appeared 
more than probable that the enemy, foiled in his attempt to 
make us bring on the fight by these little advances on our 
right and left, was about to retire, and merely kept up the can- 
nonading in order to conceal his retreat, suddenly, at 4 p. m., 
there belched forth from every brazen throat in our batteries a 
volley that seemed to shake the very earth. 

It was at this instant that the battle was joined. As the 
sporting whirls of smoke drifted away the cause of the tumult 
was at once discerned. A dense column of infantry, several 
thousand strong, which had been massed behind and near a 
strip of woods, had moved out to attack Jackson, whose men 
were concealed behind an excavation on the railroad. As soon 
as they were discovered our batteries opened with tremendous 
power, but the Federals moved boldly forward, until they came 
within the range of our small-arms, where for fully fifteen 
minutes they remained desperately engaged with our infantry. 
As the fight progressed, a second line emerged from the cover 
and went to the support of those in front, and finally a third 



110 THE 8KC0ND TEAR OF THE WAK. 

line marched out into the open field below us and there halted, 
hesitated, and soon commenced firing over the heads of their 
comrades beyond. 

Jackson's infantry raked these three columns terribly. Re- 
J3eatedly did they break and run, and rally again under the 
energetic appeals of their officers, for it was a crack corps of 
the Federal army — that of Generals Sykes and Morrell ; but 
it was not in human nature to stand unflinchingly before that 
hurricane of fire. As the fight progressed, Lee moved his bat- 
teries to the left, until reaching a position only four hundred 
yards distant from the enemy's lines, he opened again. The 
spectacle was now magnificent. As shell after shell burst in 
the wavering ranks, and round shot ploughed broad gaps among 
them, one could distinctly see through the. rifts of smoke the 
Federal soldiers falling and flying on every side. "With the 
explosion of every bomb, it seemed as if scores dropped dead, 
or writhed in agony upon the field. Some were crawling on 
their hands and knees ; some were piled up together; and some 
were lying scattered around in every attitude that imagination 
can conceive. 

Presently the Yankee columns began to break and men to 
fall out to the rear. The retreating numbers gradually in- 
crease, and the great mass, without line or form, now move 
back like a great multitude without guide or leader. From a 
slow, steady walk, the great mass, or many parts of it, move 
at a run. Jackson's men, yelling like devils, now charge upon 
the scattered crowd ; but it is easily seen that they themselves 
had severely suffered, and were but a handful compared with 
the overwhelming forces of the enemy. The flags of two or 
three regiments do not appear to be more than fifty yards 
apart. The brilliant aff'air has not occupied more than half 
an hour, but in that brief time more than a thousand Yankees 
have been launched into eternity, or left mangled on the ground. 
The whole scene of battle now changes. It will be seen in 
referring to the disposition of our forces, that Jackson's line, 
which formed our left, stretched from Bull Run towards a point 
on the Warrenton turnpike. In his severe action with the en- 
emy, his left, advancing more rapidly than his right, had swept 
around by the Pittsylvania House, and was pressing the Fed- 
erals back towards the turnpike. It was now the golden op- 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. Ill 

portnnity for Longstreet to attack the exposed left flank of the 
enemy in front of it. 

Hood's brigade charged next the turnpike. In its track it 
met Sickles' Excelsior brigade, and almost annihilated it. 
The ground was piled with the slain. Pickett's brigade was 
on the right of Hood's, next came Jenkins' brigade, and next 
was Kemper's, which charged near the Conrad House. Evans' 
and Anderson's were the reserve, and subsequently came into 
action. 

Not many minutes elapsed after the order to attack passed 
along our entire line before the volleys of platoons, and finally 
the rolling reports of long lines of musketry, indicated that 
the battle was in full progress. The whole army was now in 
motion. The woods were full of troops, and the order for the 
supports to forward at a quick step was received with enthusi- 
astic cheers by the elated men. The din was almost deafen- 
ing, the heavy notes of the artillery, at first deliberate, but 
gradually increasing in their rapidity, mingled with the sharp 
treble of the small-arms, gave one an idea of some diabolical 
concert in which all the furies of hell were at work. Through 
the woods, over gently rolling hills, now and then through an 
open field we travel on towards the front. From an elevation 
we obtain a view of a considerable portion of the field. Hood 
and Kemper are now hard at it, and as they press forward, 
never 3delding an inch, sometimes at a double quick, you hear 
those unmistakable yells, which tell of a Southern charge or a 
Southern success. 

Reaching the vicinity of the Chinn House, the eye at once 
embraces the entire vista of battle — at least that portion of it 
which is going on in front of Longstreet. Some of our men 
are in the woods in the rear, and some in the open field where 
stretches the undulating surface far away towards Bull Run. 
The old battle-ground is plainly discernible less than two miles 
distant, and to the right and left, as well as in front, the coun- 
try is comparatively unobstructed by heavy woods. Just be- 
fore you, only three or four hundred yards away, are the in- 
fantry of the enemy, and at various points in the rear are their 
reserves and batteries. Between the armies, the ground is 
already covered with the dead and wounded, for a distance 
lengthwise of nearly a mile. 



112 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Our own artillery are likewise upon commanding positions, 
and you hear the heavy rush of shot, the terrible dumps into 
the ground, and the crash of trees through which they tear with 
resistless force on every side. 

Nothing can withstand the impetuosity of our troops. Every 
line of the enemy has been broken and dispersed, but rallies 
again upon some other position behind. Hood has already 
advanced his division nearly half a mile at a double-quick, the 
Texaus, Georgians, and Hampton Legion loading and firing as 
they run, yelling all the while like madmen. They have cap- 
tured one or two batteries and various stands of colors, and are 
still pushing the enemy before them. Evans, at the head of 
his brigade, is following on the right, as their support, and 
pouring in his efi'ective volleys. Jenkins has come in on the 
right of the Chinn House, and, like an avalanche, sweeps 
down upon the legions before him with resistless force. Still 
further to the right is Longstreet's old brigade, composed of 
Virginians — veterans of every battle-field — all of whom are 
fighting like furies. The First Virginia, which opened the 
fight at Bull Eun on the 17th of July, 1861, with over six 
hundred men, now reduced to less than eighty members, is 
winning new laurels ; but out of the little handful, more than 
a third have already bit the dust. Toombs and Anderson, 
with the Georgians, together with Kemper and Jenkins, are 
swooping around on the right, flanking the Federals, and driv- 
ing them towards their centre and rear. Eschelman, with his 
company of the Washington artillery ; Major Garnett, With 
his battalion of Virginia batteries, and others of our big guns, 
are likewise working around upon the enemy's left, and pour- 
ing an enfilading fire into both their infantry and artillery. 

While the grand chorus of battle is thundering along our 
front, Jackson has closed in upon the enemy on their right, and 
Longstreet has similarly circumscribed them on their left. In 
other words, the V shaped lines with which we commenced the 
engagement have opened at the angle, while the two opposite 
ends of the figure are coming together. Lee has advanced his 
battalion of artillery from the centre, and from hill-top to hill- 
top, wherever he can eff'ect a lodgment, lets loose the racing 
masses of iron that chase each other through the Federal 
ranks. Pry or, Featherstoue, and Wilcox being on the ex- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK, 113 

treme left of Longstreet's line, are co-operating with the army 
of Jackson. 

It was at this point of the battle, when our infantry, pouring 
down from the right and left, made one of the most terrible 
and sublime bayonet charges in the records of war. There was 
seen emerging from the dust a long, solid mass of men, coming 
down upon the worn and disheartened Federals, at a bayonet 
charge, on the double-quick. This line of bayonets, in the dis- 
tance, presented a spectacle at once awful, sublime, terrible, and 
overwhelming. " They came on," said a Northern account, re- 
ferring to the Confederates, " like demons emerging from the 
earth." With grim and terrible energy, our men came up 
within good range of the enemy's columns ; they take his fire 
without a halt ; a momentary confusion ensues as the leaden 
showers are poured into our ranks; but the next moment the 
bugles sound the order to our phalanxes, and instantly the huge 
mass of Confederates is hurled against the enemy's left wing. 
The divisions of Reno and Schenck — the choicest veterans of 
the Federal army are swept away. Setting up a yell of tri- 
umph, our men push over the piles of their own dead and the 
corpses of many a Federal, using the bayonet at close quarters 
with the enemy. 

The rout of the enemy was complete. It had been a task 
of almost superhuman labor to drive the enemy from his 
strong points, defended as they were by the best artillery and 
infantry in the Federal army, but in less than four hours from 
the commencement of the battle our indomitable energy had 
accomplished every thing. The arrival of R. H. Anderson 
with his reserves soon after the engagement was fairly opened, 
proved a timely acquisition, and the handsome manner in which 
he brought his troops into position showed the cool and skilful 
general. Our generals, Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, Hood, Kem- 
per, Evans, Jones, Jenkins, and others, all shared the dangers 
to which they exposed their men. How well their colonels 
and the subordinate officers performed their duty is best testi- 
fied by the list of killed and wounded. 

In determining the fortunes of the battle our cavalry had in 
more than one instance played a conspicuous part. 

As the columns of the enemy began to give way, Gen. Bev- 
erly Robinson was ordered by Gen. Longstreet to charge the 

8 



114 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

flying masses with his brigade of cavalry. The brigade num- 
bering a thousand men, composed of Munford's, Myers', Bar- 
man's, and Flourney's regiments, was immediately put in mo- 
tion, but before reaching the infantry. Gen. Robinson discovered 
a brigade of the enemy, fifteen hundred strong, drawn up on 
the crest of a hill directly in his front. Leaving one of his 
regiments in reserve, he charged with the other three full at 
the enemy's ranks. As our men drew near, the whole of the 
Yankee line fired at them a volley from their carbines, most of 
the bullets, however, whistling harmlessly over their heads. 
In another instant the enemy received the terrific shock of our 
squadrons. There was a pause, a hand-to-hand fight for a 
moment, and the enemy broke and fled in total rout. All 
organization was destroyed, and every man trusted for his 
safety only in the heels of his horse. 

Night closed upon the battle. "When it was impossible to 
use fire-arms the heavens were lit up by the still continued 
flashes of the artillery, and the meteor flight of shells scatter- 
ing their iron spray. By this time the enemy had been forced 
across Bull Run, and their dead covered every acre from the 
starting-point of the fight to the Stone bridge. In its first 
stages, the retreat of the enemy was a wild, frenzied rout ; the 
great mass of the enemy moving at a full run, scattering over 
the fields and trampling upon the dead and living in the mad 
agony of their flight. The whole army was converted into a 
mob ; regiments and companies were no longer distinguisha- 
ble ; and the panic-stricken fugitives were slaughtered at every 
step of their retreat — our cavalry cutting them down, or our 
infantry driving their bayonets into their backs. 

In crossing Bull Run many of the enemy were drowned, 
being literally dragged and crushed under the water, which was 
not more than waist deep, by the crowds of frenzied men press- 
ing and trampling upon each other in the stream. On reach- 
ing Centreville the flight of the enemy was arrested by the 
appearance of about thirty thousand fresh Yankee troops — 
Gen. Franklin's corps. The mass of fugitives was here rallied 
into the extent of forming it again into columns, and with this 
appearance of organization, it was resolved by Gen. Pope to 
continue his retreat to the intrenchments of Washington. 

Thus ended the second great battle of Manassas. We had 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 115 

driven the enemy up hill" and down, a distance of two and a 
half miles, strewing this great space with his dead, captured 
thirty pieces of artillery, and some six or eight thousand stand 
of arms. Seven thousand prisoners were paroled on the field 
of battle. For want of transportation valuable stores had to 
be destroyed as captured, while the enemy at their various 
depots are reported to have burned many millions of propertv 
in their retreat. 

The appearance of the field of battle attested in the most 
terrible and hideous manner the carnage in the ranks of the 
enemy. Over the gullies, ravines, and valleys, which divided 
the opposite hills, the dead and wounded lay by thousands, as 
far as the eye could reach. The woods were full of them. In 
front of the Chinn House, which had been converted into a 
hospital, tho havoc was terrible. The ground was strewn not 
only with men, but arms, ammunition, provisions, haversacks, 
canteens, and whatever else the afifrighted Federals could 
throw away to facilitate their flight. In front of the positions 
occupied by Jackson's men, the killed were more plentiful. In 
many instances as many as eighty or ninety dead marked the 
place where had fought a single Yankee regiment. Around 
the Henry and Robinson Houses the dead were more scattered, 
as if they were picked off, or killed while running. The body 
of a dead Yankee was found lying at full length upon the 
grave of the aged Mrs. Henry, who was killed by the enemy's 
balls in the old battle that had raged upon this spot. Tliree 
others were upon the very spot where Bartow fell, and within 
a few feet of the death-place of Gen. Bee was still another 
group. A little further on a wounded Federal had lain for the 
last two days and nights, where by extending his hand on either 
side he could touch the dead bodies of his companions. His 
head was pillowed on one of these. Confederate soldiers were 
also to be found in the midst of these putrefying masses of 
death ; but these were comparatively rare. The scenes of the 
battle-field were rendered ghastly by an extraordinary circum- 
stance. There was not a dead Yankee in all that broad field 
who had not been stripped of his shoes or stockings — and in 
numerous cases been left as naked as the hour he was born. 
Our barefooted and ragged men had not hesitated to supply their 
necessities even from the garments and equipments of the dead. 



116 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

The enemy admitted a loss down to Friday night of 17,000 
men, Pope officially stating his loss on that day to have been 
8,000. In one of the Baltimore papers it was said that the 
entire Yankee loss, including that of Saturday, was 32,000 
men — killed, wounded, and prisoners. This statement allows 
15,000 for the loss on Saturday. That the loss of that par- 
ticular day was vastly greater than the enemy admit, we take 
to be certain. They are not the persons to over-estimate their 
own losses, and, in the mean time. Gen, Lee tells us that over 
7,000 of them were taken and. paroled on the field. If they 
fought the battle with any thing like the desperation they pre- 
tend, considering that it lasted five hours, they certainly had 
more than 8,000 killed and wounded. Four days after the 
battle there were still three thousand wounded Yankees un- 
cared for within the lines of Gen. Lee. It is very certain, if 
they were not cared for, it was because the number of wounded 
was so great that their turn had not come. Our own wounded, 
not exceeding, it is said, 3,000, could very well be attended to 
in a day, and then the turn of the Yankees would come. Yet 
so numerous were they, that at the end of four days three 
thousand of them had not received surgical assistance. This 
indicates an enormous list of wounded, and confirms the report 
of one oflicer, who puts down tlieir killed at 5,000, and their 
wounded at three times that figure, making 20,000 killed and 
wounded, and of others M^ho say that their killed and wounded 
were to us in the proportion of five, six, and even seven to one. 
As many prisoners were taken, who were not included in the 
7,000 paroled men mentioned by Gen. Lee, we do not think we 
make an over-estimate when we set down the whole Yankee loss 
at 30,000 in round numbers. Their loss on Friday, estimated 
by Pope himself at 8,000, added to their loss on Saturday, 
makes 38,000. Previous operations, including the battle of 
Cedar Run, the several expeditions of Stuart, and the various 
skirmishes in \vhich we were almost uniformly victorious, we 
should think would fairly bring the total loss of the enemy to 
50,000 men, since our forces first crossed the Rapidan. This 
is a result almost unequalled in the history of modern cam- 
paigns. 

The results of Gen. Lee's strategy were indicative of the 
resources of military genius. Day after day the enemy were 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 117 

beaten, until liis disasters culminated on the plains of Ma- 
nassas. Da}'^ after day our officers and men manifested their 
superiority to the enemy. The summer campaign in Virginia 
had been conducted by a single army. The same toil-worn 
troops who had relieved from siege the city of Richmond, had 
advanced to meet another invading army, reinforced not only 
by the defeated army of McClellan, but by the fresh corps of 
Generals Burnside and Hunter. The trials and marches of 
these troops are extraordinary in history. Transportation was 
inadequate ; the streams which they had to cross were swollen 
to unusual height ; it was only by forced marches and repeated 
combats they could turn the position of the enemy, and, at 
last succeeding in this, and forming a junction of their columns, 
in the face of greatly superior forces, they fought the decisive 
battle of the 30th of August, the crowning triumph of their 
toil and valor. 

The route of the extraordinary marches of our troops pre- 
sented, for long and weary miles, the touching pictures of the 
trials of war. Broken-down soldiers (not all " stragglers") 
lined the road. At night-time they might be found asleep in 
every conceivable attitude of discomfort — on fence rails and in 
fence corners — some half bent, others almost erect, in ditches 
and on steep hill-sides, some without blanket or overcoat. Day- 
break found them drenched with dew, but strong in purpose; 
with half rations of bread and meat, ragged and barefooted, 
they go cheerfully forward. No nobler spectacle was ever pre- 
sented in history. These beardless youths and gray-haired 
men, who thus spent their nights like the beasts of the field, 
were the best men of the land — of all classes, trades, and pro- 
fessions. The spectacle was such as to inspire the prayer that 
ascended from the sanctuaries of the South — that God might 
reward the devotion of these men to principle and justice by 
crowning their labors and sacrifices with that blessing which 
always bringeth peace. 

The victory which had crowned the campaign of our armies 
in Virginia, illuminates the names of all associated with it. 
But in the achievement of that victory, and in the histoiy of 
that campaign, there is one name which, in a few months, had 
mounted to the zenith of fame ; which in dramatic associations, 
in rapid incidents, and in swift and sudden renown, challenged 



118 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

comparison with the most extraordinary phenomena in the 
annals of military genius. This remark is not invidious in its 
spirit, nor is it forced into the context of this sketch. A per- 
sonal allusion may be spared in the narrative, when that allu- 
sion is to the most remarkable man in the history of the war. 

We refer to Gen. Stonewall Jackson and that wonderful 
chapter of military achievements which commenced in the Val- 
ley of Virginia and concluded at Manassas. It was difficult to 
say what this man had not accomplished that had ever before 
been accomplished in history with equal means and in an equal 
period of time. 

In the spring, Gen. Jackson had been placed in command of 
the small army of observation which held the upper valley of 
the Shenandoah and the country about Staunton. It was in- 
tended that he should remain quasi inactive, to watch the 
enemy and to wait for him ; but he soon commenced manoeuv- 
ring on his own responsibility, and ventured upon a scale of 
operations that threw the higher military authorities at Kich- 
mond into a fever of anxiety and alarm. 

In less than thirty days he dashed at the Yankee advance, 
and driving it back, wheeled his army, swept down the Valley, 
and drove Banks across the Potomac. Returning to the upper 
Valley, he manoeuvred around for three weeks — in the mean 
time dealing Fremont a heavy blow at Cross Keys and defeat- 
ing Shields in the Luray valley — and then suddenly swept 
down the Virginia Central railroad, via Gordonsville, on 
McClellan's right, before Richmond. The part he played in 
winding up the campaign on the Peninsula is well known. 
Almost before the smoke had lifted from the bloody field of 
the Chickahominy, we hear of him again on his old stamping 
ground above Gordonsville. Cedar Mountain was fought and 
won from Pope before he knew his campaign was opened. 
Jackson fell back, but only to flank him on the right. Pope 
retired from the Rapidan to the Rappahannock, but Jackson 
swung still further round to the North, and outflanked him 
again. Yet again he gave up the Rappahannock and fell back 
south of Warrenton, and, for the third time, Jackson outflanked 
him through Thoroughfare Gap, and at last got in his rear. 
Pope now had to fight ; and the victory which perched upon 
our banners was the most brilliant of the war. 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 119 

It is curious to observe with what insolent confidence the 
North had anticipated a crowning triumph of its arms on the 
field of Manassas, even when the air around "Washington was 
burdened with the signals of its defeat. The North did not 
tolerate the idea of defeat. On the very day of the battle, 
Washington was gay with exultation and triumph over an im- 
agined victory. At thirty minutes past twelve o'clock, the 
Washington Star published a dispatch, declaring that it had 
learned from parties just from Fairfax county, that the firing 
had stopped; and added, "we trust the fact means a surrender 
of the rebels, and do not see how it can mean aught else." At 
a later hour of the afternoon, a dispatch was received at the 
War Department, from Major-gen. Pope, announcing a bril- 
liant victory in a decisive battle with the Confederate forces 
on the old Bull Run battle-field. It was stated that he had 
defeated the Confederate army, and was driving it in discom- 
fiture before him. This dispatch had a magical effect. The 
War Department, contrary to its usual custom, not only per- 
mitted, but officially authorized the publication of the dispatch. 
Citizens of every grade, of both sexes and of all ages, were 
seen in groups around the corners, and in the places of public 
resort, speculating upon the particulars and the consequences 
of the decisive victory reported. The triumph of the Federal 
arms was apparently shown to be more complete by reason of 
the announcement that Gen. Stonewall Jackson, with sixteen 
thousand of his troops, had been cut ofi" and captured. 

It was at this point of exultation that another dispatch was 
received from Gen. Pope, stating that the uncertain tide of 
battle had unfortunately turned against the Federal army, and 
that he had been compelled to abandon the battle-field during 
the evening. The revulsion was great ; the untimely hallelu- 
jahs were interrupted, and the population of Washington, from 
its hasty and indecent exultations of the morning, was soon to 
be converted into a panic-stricken community, trembling for 
its own safety. 

Indeed, the victory achieved by the Confederates was far 
more serious than the most lively alarm in Washington coulc^ 
at first imagine. The next morning after the battle, the last 
feeble resistance of the Federals at Centre ville was broken. 
The finishing stroke was given by the Confederates under Gen. 



120 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAK. 

A. P. Hill, who, on the first of September (Monday), encoun- 
tered a large body of the enemy at Germantown, a small vil- 
lage in Fairfax county, near the main road leading from Cen- 
treville to Fairfax Court-house. The enemy, it appears, had 
succeeded in rallying a snfiicient number of their routed troops 
at the point named, to make another show of opposition to 
the advance of the victorious Confederates on their territory. 
On Sunday, the pursuit of Pope's army was commenced and 
pressed with vigor on the Fairfax Court-house road, and on 
Monday morning at daylight the enemy was discovered drawn 
up in line of battle across the road, their right extending to 
the village of Germantown. Gen. Hill immediately ordered 
the attack, and after a brief but hotly contested fight, the 
enemy withdrew. During the night, the enemy fell back to 
Fairfax Court-house and abandoned his position at Centreville. 
The next day, about noon, he evacuated Fairfax Court-house, 
taking the road to Alexandria and Washington. 

Thus were realized the full and glorious results of the second 
victory of Manassas ; thus were completed the great objects of 
the brilliant summer campaign of 1862 in Virginia ; and thus, 
for a second time, on the famous borders of the Potomac, the 
gates were thrown wide open to the invasion of the North, and to 
new fields of enterprise for the victorious armies of the South. 

The rapid change in the fortunes of the Confederacy, and 
the sharp contrast between its late forlorn situation and what 
were now the brilliant promises of the future, were animating 
and suggestive topics. 

Little more than three months had elapsed since the columns 
of a hostile army were debouching on the plains near Rich- 
mond, when the evacuation of the city and a further retreat of 
the Confederate army were believed by nearly all oSicial per- 
sons the most prudent and politic steps that the government 
could take under the circumstances. Little more than three 
months had elapsed since our armies were retreating weak and 
disorganized before the overwhelming force of the enemy^ 
yielding to them the sea-coast, the mines, the manufacturing 
power, the grain fields, and even entire States of the Confed- 
eracy. Kow we were advancing with increased numbers, im- 
proved organization, renewed courage, and the prestige of 
victory, upon an enemy defeated and disheartened. 



THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 121 

As the opposing armies of the war now stood, the South 
had causes for congratulation and pride such, perhaps, as no 
other people ever had in similar circumstances. The North 
had a population of twenty-three millions against eight mil- 
lions serving the South, and of these eight millions nearly 
three millions were African slaves. The white population of 
New York and Pennsylvania was greater than that of the 
Confederate States. Manufacturing establishments of all de- 
scriptions rendered the North a self-sustaining people for all 
the requirements of peace or war, and, with these advantages, 
they retained those of an unrestricted commerce with foreign 
nations. The North had all the ports of the world open to its 
ships ; it had furnaces, foundries, and workshops ; its manufac- 
turing resources, compared with those of the South, were as 
five hundred to one ; the great marts of Europe were open to 
it for supplies of arms and stores ; there was nothing of mate- 
rial resource, nothing of the apparatus of conquest that was 
not within its reach. 

The South, on the other hand, with only a few insignificant 
manufactories of arms and materials of war, textile fabrics, 
leather, &c., had been cut ofif by an encircling blockade for 
fifteen months from all those supplies upon which she had de- 
pended from the North and from Europe, in the way of arms, 
munitions of war, clothing, medicines, and many of the essen- 
tials of subsistence. The South was without the vestige of a 
navy, except a straggling ship or two, while that of the North 
in this war was equal to a land force of three or four hundred 
thousand men. The South was nearly exhausted of the com- 
monest articles of food, while the Northern States had a super- 
abundance of all the essentials and luxuries of life. The 
Northern troops, en 7nasse, were better armed, equipped, and 
subsisted than those of any other nation, while those of the 
South were armed with all sorts of weapons — good, bad, and 
indifferent — clothed in rags and fed upon half rations. 

The result of all this immense and boasted superiority on 
the part of the North, coupled with the most immense exer- 
tions, was that the South remained unconquered. The result 
was humiliating enough to the warlike reputation of the North. 
It had not been separated from its feeble adversary by seas or 
mountains, but only by a geographical line ; nature had not 



122 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR, 

interfered to protect the weak from the strong. Three " grand 
armies" had advanced against Richmond ; and yet not only 
was the South more invincible in spirit than ever, but her ar- 
mies of brave and ragged men were already advancing upon 
the Northern borders, and threatening, at least so far as to 
alarm their enemy, the invasion of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and 
the occupation of the Northern capital. 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 123 



CHAPTER IV. 

Rescue of Virginia from the Invader. — Gen. Loring's Campaign in the Kanawha 
Valley. — A Novel Theatre of the War. — Gen. Lee's Passage of the Potomac. — His 
Plans. — Disposition of our Forces. — McClellan again at the Head of the Yankee 
Army. — The Battle of Boonsboro'. — The Capture of Harper's Ferry. — Its Fruits. 
— The Battle of Sharpsburg. — Great Superiority of the Enemy's Numbers. — Fury 
of the Battle. — The Bridge of Antietam. — A Drawn Battle. — Spectacles of Carnage. — 
The Unburied Dead. — Gen. Lee retires into Virginia. — McClellan's Pretence of 
Victory. — The Affair of Shepherdstown. — Charges against McClellan. — His Disgrace. 
— Review of the Maryland Campaign. — Misrepresentations of Gen. Lee's Objects. — 
His Retreat. — Comment of the New York " Tribune." — The Cold Reception of the 
Confederates in Maryland. — E-Kcuses for the Timidity of the Marylanders. — What 
was accomplished by the Summer Campaign of 1S62. — The Outburst of Applause in 
Europe. — Tribute from the London " Times." — Public Opinion in England.— Dis- 
tinction between the People and the Government. — The Mask of England. — Our For- 
eign Relations in the War. — An Historical Parallel of Secession. — Two Remarks on 
the "Neutrality" of Europe. — The Yankee Blockade and the Treaty of Paris. — The 
Confederat* Privateers. — Temper of the South. — Fruits of the Blockade. 

The close of the summer found the long-harassed soil of 
Virginia cleared of the footsteps of the invader. The glorious 
victory of Manassas was followed by other propitious events in 
this State of lesser importance, but which went to complete 
the general result of her freedom from the thraldom of the 
Yankee. 

In the early part of September the campaign of Gen. Loring 
in the valley of the Kanawha was consummated by a vigorous 
attack on the enemy at Fayette Court-house, and the occupa- 
tion of Charlestown by our troops. On the 10th of that month 
we advanced upon the enemy's front at Fayette Court-house, 
while a portion of our forces made a detour over the mountain 
so as to attack him in the rear. The fighting continued from 
noon until night, our artillery attacking desperately in front ; 
and the enemy took advantage of the darkness to effect his es- 
cape, not, however, without leaving his trains in our hands. 

The Yankees made a stand at Cotton Hiil, seven miles fur- 
ther on. A few hours' fighting dislodged them, and we pur- 
sued on to Kanawha Falls, where they again made a stand ; 
but a few hours' contest made us again masters of the field, 
with more than a million dollars' worth of stores and some 
prisoners. 



124 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

The advance of onr troops to Charlestown was the signal to 
the enemy for an inhuman attempt to burn the town, the 
women being di-iven from their homes on fifteen minutes' no- 
tice. As our troops approached the town, dense clouds of black 
smoke were seen to hang over it, mingled with the lurid glare 
of burning buildings, while the shrieks of frightened women 
and children filled the air. The sight stung to madness our 
troops. Two regiments of Kanawha valley men, beholding 
in plain view the homes of their childhood blazing, and catch- 
ing the cries of distress of their mothers, wives, and sisters, 
rushed, furious and headlong, to the rescue. Happily they 
were not too late to arrest the conflagration, and a fev/ public 
buildings and some private residences were all that fell under 
the enemy's torch. 

The camj)aign of the Kanawha was accomplished by us with 
a loss of not more than a hundred men. The results were ap- 
parently of great importance, as we had secured the great 
salines of Yirginia,* driven the enemy from the valley of the 
Kanawha, and put our forces in position to threaten his towns 
on the bank of the Ohio. But unhappily we shall have occa- 
sion hereafter to see that these results were ephemeral, and 
that this unfortunate part of Yirginia was destined to other 
experiences of the rigor of the enemy. 

For the present the progress of events takes us from the old 
battle-fields of the South and introduces us to a novel theatre 
of the war — that theatre being located for the first time on the 
soil and within the recognized dominions of the enemy. 

On the fourth day of September, Gen. Lee, leaving to his 
right Arlington Heights, to which had retreated the shattered 
army of Pope, crossed the Potomac into Marjdand. 

The immediate designs of this movement of the Confederate 



* But few persons, even in the South, have adequate ideas of the resources 
and facilities for the production of salt in the Kanawha valley, and of the value 
of that small strip of Confederate territory. In Kanawha county alone forty fur- 
naces were in operation ; some operated by gas and some by coal. Salt by the 
million of bushels had been sold here from year to year at twelve cents and 
twenty cents per bushel, filling the markets of the West and South. Ships for 
Liverpool had formerly taken out salt as ballast ; and yet, at one time in the 
war, owing to the practical cutting off of the saline supplies in Virginia, this 
article, formerly of such cheap bulk, had been sold in Richmond at a dollar and 
a half a pound, . , 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 125 

commander were to seize Harper's Ferry and to test the spirit 
of the Marjlanders ; but in order to be unmolested in his plans, 
he threatened Pennsylvania from Hagerstown, throwing Gov. 
Curtin almost into hysterics, and animating Baltimore with 
the hope that he would emancipate her from the iron tyranny 
of Gen. Wool. 

After the advance of our army to Frederick, the ISTorthern 
journals were filled with anxious reports of a movement of our 
troops in the direction of Pennsylvania. AVhile the people of 
the North were agitated by these reports, the important move- 
ment undertaken for the present by Gen. Lee was in the direc- 
tion of Virginia. It appears that for this purpose our forces 
in Maryland were divided into three corps, commanded by 
Generals Jackson, Longstreet, and Hill. The forces under 
Jackson having recros^ed the Potomac at Williamsport and 
taken possession of Martinsburg, had then passed rapidly be- 
hind Harper's Ferry, that a capture might be effected of the 
garrison and stores known to be there. In the mean time, the 
corps of Longstreet and Hill were put in position to cover the 
operations of Jackson, and to hold back McClellan's forces, 
which were advancing to the relief of Harper's Ferry. 

Gen. McClellan had resumed the chief command of the 
Federal armies on the second day of September*. On the 
fourteenth of that month, he fought his iirst battle in Mary- 
land, called the battle of Boonesboro', or of South Mountain. 

THE BATTLE OF BOONESBOBO'. 

When Jackson had diverged to the left from the line of 
march pursued by the main body of the Confederates, recross- 
ing the Potomac and moving rapidly upon Harper's Ferry, 
Gen. Longstreet had. meanwhile continued his march to Ha- 
gerstown, and there awaited the result. To frustrate this de- 
sign, and relieve Gen. Miles and the ten or twelve thousand 
men who occupied Harper's Ferry, the enemy moved their 
entire force upon the Gap in the mountains, to which we have 
alluded, and there sought to break through the barrier we were 
so jealously guarding, divide our lines, and defeat our armies 
in detail. Foreseeing this intention on the part of the Fed- 
erals, Gen. Lee had posted the division of Gen. D. H. Hill in 



126 THE SECOND YE\R OF THE WAE. 

and around the Gap, on the opposite side and summit, with in- 
structions to hold the position at every hazard, until he was 
notified of the success of the movement of Jackson and his 
co-operates. It was certainly no part of the original plan to 
fight a pitched battle here, except to secure this one desirable 
result. 

The pass is known as Boonesboro' Gap, being a continuation 
over the broad back of the mountain of the national turnpike. 
The road is winding, narrow, rocky, and rugged, with either a 
deep ravine on one side and the steep sides of the mountain on 
the other, or like a huge channel cut through a solid rock. 
Near the crest are two or three houses, which, to some extent, 
overlook the adjacent valleys, but elsewhere the face of the 
mountain is unbroken by a solitary vestige of the handiwork 
of man. 

The battle commenced soon after daylight, by a vigorous 
cannonade, under cover of which, two or three hours later, first 
the skirmishers and then the main bodies became engaged. A 
regular line of battle on our part, either as regards numbers 
or regularity, was impossible, and the theatre of the fight was 
therefore limited. The fortunes of the day, which were des- 
perate enough in the face of the most overwhelming numbers, 
were stubbornly contested by the Confederates. The brigade 
of Gen; "Garland of Virginia, the first engaged, lost its brave 
commander. While endeavoring to rally his men, he fell, 
pierced in the breast by a musket ball, and died upon the field. 

While our lines were giving way under the pressure of the 
enemy's numbers, the welcome sounds of reinforcements were 
borne on the air. The corps of Gen. Longstreet was at Ha- 
gerstown, fourteen miles distant, and at daylight commenced 
its march towards the scene of action. Slurrying forward 
with all speed, stopping neither to rest nor eat, the advance 
arrived at the pass about four o'clock, and were at once sent 
into the mountain. Brigade after brigade, as rapidly as it 
came up, followed, until by five o'clock nearly the entire com- 
mand, with the exception of the brigade of Gen. Toombs, 
which had been left at Hagerstown, was in position, and a por- 
tion of it already engaged. Evans was assigned to the extreme 
left, Drayton to the right, and Hood, with his " ragged Tex- 
ans," occupied the centre. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 127 

The accession of fresh numbers at once changed the tone 
and temper of the combat. The ominous volleys of musketry- 
rolled down the mountain in almost deafening succession. 
But advance we could not. The enemy in numbers were like 
a solid wall. Their bayonets gleamed from behind every rock 
and bush. Retreat we would not, and thus we fought, dog- 
gedly giving and taking the fearful blows of battle, until long 
after nightfall. 

The cessation of firing left the respective forces, with some 
exceptions, in nearly the same relative situation as at the com- 
mencement of the battle. The enemy gained nothing and we 
lost nothing. On the contrary, our object had been obtained. 
We had encountered a force of the enemy near fivefold our 
own, and after a bloody day, in which our killed and wounded 
were quite twenty-five hundred and those of the enemy prob- 
ably more, we had held him in check until Gen. Jackson was 
heard from and the success of his enterprise rendered certain. 

THE CAPTURE OF HAKPEr's FERRY. 

While the action of Boonesboro' was in progress, and the 
enemy attempting to force his way through the main pass on 
the Frederick and Hagerstown road, the capture of Harper's 
Ferry was accomplished by the army corps of Gen. Jackson. 

During the night of the 14th of September, Gen, Jackson 
planted his guns, and in the morning opened in all directions 
on the Federal forces drawn up in line of battle on Bolivar 
Heights. The white flag was raised at twenty minutes past 
seven. At the moment of surrender. Col. Miles, the Federal 
commander, was struck by a piece of shell, which carried away 
his left thigh. " My God, I am hit," he exclaimed, and fell 
into the arms of his aid-de-camp. 

The extent of the conquest is determined by the fact that we 
took eleven thousand troops, an equal number of small-arms, 
seventy -three pieces of artillery, and about two hundred wagons. 
The force of the enemy which surrendered consisted of twelve 
regiments of infantry, three companies of cavalry, and six com- 
panies of artillery. The scene of the surrender was one of 
deep humiliation to the North. It was indeed a repetition of 
the revolutionary glories of Yorktown, to see here the proud, 



128 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

gayly-dressed soldiers of the oppressor drawn np in line, stack- 
ing their arms, and surrendering to the ragged, barefoot, half- 
starved soldiers of liberty.* 

* Official Report op Operations op Gen. Jackson's Command, from 
September 5th to September 27th, 1862. 

neadquai-tera 2d Corps A. 2f. Y., \ 
April 23d, 1863. f 

OeneraX, — I have the honor to submit a report of the operations of my com- 
mand from the 5th to the 27th of September, 1863, embracing the capture of 
Harper's Ferry, the engagement at Shepherdstown, and so much of the battle 
of Sharpsburg as was fought by my command. 

My command comprised A. P. Hill's division, consisting of the brigades of 
Branch, Gregg, Field (Col. Brockenbrough commanding), Pender, Archer, and 
Col. Thomas, with the batteries of the division, under Lieut.-col. R. L. Walker ; 
Ewell's division, under Brigadier-gen. Lawton, consisting of the brigades of 
Early, Hays (Col. Strong), Trimble (Col. Walker), and Lawton (Col. Douglas), 
with the artillery under Major Courtney ; and Jackson's division, under Briga 
dier-gen. Starke, consisting of the brigades of Winder (Col. Grigsby), Jones (Col. 
B. T. Johnson), Taliaferro (Col. Warren), and Starke (Col. Stafford), with the 
artillery under Major Shumaker, Chief of Artillery. 

On the 5th of September my command crossed the Potomac at White's ford, 
and bivouacked that night near the Three Springs, in the State of Maryland. 
Not having any cavalry with me except the Black Horse, vmder Capt. Randolph, 
I directed him, after crossing the Potomac, to take a part of his company and 
scout to the right, in order to prevent a surprise of the column from that direc- 
tion. For the thorough and efficient manner in which this duty was performed, 
and for the valuable service rendered generally whilst attached to my head- 
quarters, I desire to make special mention of this company and of its officers, 
Capt. Randolph, and Lieuts. Paine, Tyle, and Smith, who frequently transmit- 
ted orders, in the absence of staff-officers. 

The next day we arrived in the vicinity of Frederick City. Jackson's division 
encamped near its suburbs, except the brigade of Gen. Jones (Col. Bradley T. 
Johnson commanding), which was posted in the city as a provost guard. Ewell's 
and Hill's divisions occupied positions near the raih'oad bridge, on the Mono- 
cacy, guarding the approaches from Washington city. In obedience to instruc- 
tions from the commanding general, and for the purpose of capturing the Fed- 
eral forces and stores then at Martinsburg and Harper's Ferry, my command 
left the vicinity of Frederick City on the 10th, and passing rapidly through 
Middletown, Booneshorough, and Williamsport, recrossed the Potomac into Vir 
ginia, at Light's ford, on the 11th. Gen. Hill moved with his division on the 
turnpike direct from WUliamsport to Martinsburg. The divisions of Jackson 
and Ewell proceeded towards the North Mountain depot, on the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad, about seven mUes northwest of Martinsburg. They bivouacked 
that night in the vicinity of the depot. In order to prevent the Federal forces 
then at Martinsburg from escaping westward unobserved. Major Myers, com- 
manding the cavalry, sent part of his troops as far south as the Berkeley and 
Hampshire turnpikes. Brigadier-gen. White, who was in command of the 
Federal forces at Martinsburg, becoming advised of our approach, evacuated 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 129 



THK BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG. 

On the lYth of September Gen. Lee had retired to unite his 
forces, as far as possible, to confront the still advancing forces 

the place on tlie night of the 11th, and retreated to Harper's Ferry. On the 
morning of the 12th, our cavalry entered the town, as in the course of the day 
did the main body of my command. At this point, abandoned quartermaster, 
commissary, and ordnance stores fell into our hands. Proceeding thence to- 
wards Harper's Ferry, about 11 o'clock, A. m., on the following morning (13th), 
the head of the column came in view of the enemy drawn up in force at Boli- 
var Heights. Gen. Hill, who was in the advance, went into camp near Halls- 
town, about two miles from the enemy's position. The two other divisions 
encamped near by. 

The commanding general, having directed Major-gen. McLaws to move with 
his own and Gen. R. H. Anderson's division, to take possession of the Mary- 
land Heights, overlooking Harper's Ferry, and Brigadier-gen. J. G. Walker, 
pursuing a different route, to cross the Potomac, and move up that river on the 
Virginia side, and occupy the Loudon Heights, both for the purpose of co-oper- 
ating with me, it became necessary, before making the attack, to ascertain 
whether they were in position. Failing to learn the fact by signals, a courier 
was dispatched to each of these points for the required information. During 
the night the courier from the Loudon Heights returned, vnth a message from 
Gen, Walker, that he was in position. In the mean time. Gen. McLaws had 
attacked the Federal force posted to defend the Maryland Heights, had routed 
it, and taken possession of that commanding position. The Potomac river 
flowed between the positions respectively occupied by Gen. McLaws and my- 
self, and the Shenandoah separated me from Gen. Walker ; and it became ad- 
visable, as the speediest mode of communication, to resort to signals. Before 
the necessary orders were thus transmitted, the day was far advanced. The 
enemy had, by fortifications, strengthened the naturally strong position which 
he occupied along Bolivar Heights, extending from near the Shenandoah to the 
Potomac. McLaws and Walker, being thus separated from the enemy by in- 
tervening rivers, could afford no assistance, beyond the fire of their artillery, 
and guarding certain avenues of escape to the enemy. And from the reports 
received from them by signals, in consequence of the distance and range of 
their guns, not much could be expected from their artUlery, so long as the 
enemy retained his advanced position on Bolivar Heights. 

In the afternoon (14th), Gen. Hill was ordered to move along the left bank 
of the Shenandoah, turn the enemy's left, and enter Harper's Ferry. Gen. 
Lawton, commanding Ewell's division, was directed to move along the turnpike 
for the purpose of supporting Gen. Hill, and of otherwise operating against the 
enemy to his left. 

Gen. J. R. Jones, commanding Jackson's division, was directed, with one of 
his brigades, and a battery of artillery, to make a demonstration against the 
enemy's right, whilst the remaining part of his command, as a reserve, moved 
along the turnpike. Major Massie, commanding the cavalry, was directed to 
keep upon our left flank, for the purpose of preventing the enemy from escaping. 
Brig.-gen. Walker guarded against an escape across the Shenandoah river. 

9 



130 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

of McCIcllan, wliich, having obtained possession of Crarnpton's 
Gap, on the direct road from Frederick City to Sharpsburg, 
were pressing our forces, and seemed determined on a decisive 



Fearing lest the enemy should attempt to escape across the Potomac, by means 
of signals I called the attention of Major-gen. McLaws. commanding on the Ma- 
ryland Heiglits, to the propriety of guarding against such an attempt. The 
d(^monstration on the left against the enemy's right was made by Winder's bri- 
gade (Col. Grigsby commanding). It was ordered to secure a commanding hill 
to the left of tlie heights, near the Potomac. Promptly dispersing some cav- 
alry, this eminence, from which the batteries of Poague and Carpenter subse- 
quently did such admirable execution, was secured without difficulty. In exe- 
cution of the orders given Maj.-gen. Hill, he moved obliquely to the right until 
he struck the Shenandoah river. Observing an eminence, crowning the ex- 
treme left of the enemy's line, occupied by infantry, but without artiller}^ and 
protected only by an abatis of fallen timber, Pender, Archer, and Brocken- 
brough were directed to gain the crest of that hill, while Branch and Gregg 
were directed to march along the river, and during the night to take advantage 
of the ravines, cutting the precipitous banks of the river, and establish them- 
selves on the plain to the left and rear of the enemy's works. Thomas followed 
as a reserve. The execution of the first movement was intrusted to Brig.-gen. 
Pender, who accomplished it with slight resistance ; and during the night, 
Lieut.-col. Walker, chief of artillery of Hill's division, brought up the batteries 
of Captains Pegram, Mcintosh, Davidson, Braxton, and Crenshaw, and estab- 
lished them upon the position thus gained. Branch and Gregg also gained the 
positions gained for them, and daybreak found them in rear of the enemy's line 
of defence. 

As directed, Brig.-gen. Lawton, commanding EweU's division, moved on the 
turnpike in three columns — one on the road, and another on each side of it — 
until he reached Hallstown, where he formed line of battle, and advanced to 
the woods on School-house Hill. The division laid on their arms during the 
night, Lawton and Trimble being in line on the right of the road, and Hays on 
his left, with Early immediately in his rear. During the night. Col. Crutch- 
field, my chief of artillery, crossed ten guns of Ewell's division over the Shen- 
andoah, and established them on its right bank, so as to enfilade the enemy's 
position on Bolivar Heights, and take his nearest and most formidable fortifica- 
tions in reverse. The other batteries of EweU's division were placed in position 
on School-house Hill and Bolivar Heights, on each side of the road. 

At dawn, Sept. 15th, Gen. Lawton advanced his division to the front of the 
woods, Lawton's brigade (Col. Douglas commanding) moved by flank to the 
bottom between School-house Hill and Bolivar Heights, to support the advance 
of Maj.-gen. Hill. 

Lieut.-col. Walker opened a rapid enfilade fire from all his batteries at about 
one thousand yards' range. The batteries on School-house HUl attacked the 
enemy's line in front. In a short time the guns of Capts. Brown, Garber, Lati- 
mer, and Dement, under the direction of Col. Crutchfield, opened from the rear. 
The batteries of Poague and Carpenter opent^d fire upon the enemy's right. 
The artillery upon the Loudon Heights of Brig.-gen. Walker's command, under 
Capt. French, which had silenced the enemy's artillery near the superio- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 131 

battle. Sharpsburg is about ten miles north of Harper's Ferry, 
and about eight miles west of Boonesboro'. 

This town lies in a deep valley. The country around it is 
broken. Ascending a hill just on the outer edge of the town, 

tendent's house, on the preceding afternoon, again opened upon Harper's Ferry, 
and also some guns of Maj.-gen. McLaws, from the Maryland Heights. In an 
hour the enemy's fire seemed to be silenced, and the batteries of Gen. Hill were 
ordered to cease their fire, which was the signal for storming the works. Gen. 
Pender had commenced his advance, when, the enemy again opening, Pegram 
and Crenshaw moved forward their batteries and poured a rapid fire into the 
enemy. The white flag was now displayed, and shortly afterwards, Brig.-gen. 
White (the commanding officer, Col. D. S. Miles having been mortally wounded), 
with a garrison of about 11,000 men, surrendered as prisoners of war. 

Under this capitulation we took possession of 73 pieces of artillery, some 
13,000 small-arms, and other stores. Liberal terms were granted Gen. White 
and the officers under Ms command in the surrender, which I regret to say, 
do not seem, from subsequent events, to have been properly appreciated by 
their government. 

Leaving Gen. Hill to receive the surrender of the Federal troops, and taking 
the requisite steps for securing the captured stores, I moved, in obedience to 
orders from the commanding general, to rejoin him in Maryland with the re- 
maining divisions of my command. By a severe night's march, we reached the 
vicinity of Sharpsburg on the morning of the 16th. 

By direction of the commanding general I advanced on the enemy, leaving 
Sharpsburg to the right, and took position to the left of Gen. Longstreet, near 
a Dimkard church, Ewell's division (Gen. Lawton commanding), forming the 
right, and Jackson's division (Gen. J. R. Jones, commanding), forming the left 
of my command. Major-gen. Stuart, with the cavalry, was on my left. 

Jackson's division (Gen. Jones commanding), was formed partly in an open 
field and partly in the woods, with its right resting upon Sharpsburg and 
Hagerstown turnpike, Winder's and Jones' brigades being in front, and Talia- 
ferro's and Starke's brigades a short distance in their rear, and Poague's battery 
on a knoll in front. 

Ewell's di^dsion followed that of Jackson to the wood on the left of the road 
near the church. Early's brigade was thus formed on the left of the line of 
Jackson's division to guard its flank, and Hays' brigade was formed in its rear • 
La\\i;on's and Trimble's brigades remaining during the evening with arms 
stacked near the church. 

A battery of the enemy, some five hundred yards to the front of Jackson's 
division, opening fire upon a battery to the right, was silenced in twenty 
minutes by a rapid and well-directed fire from Poague's battery ; other batteries 
of the enemy opened soon after upon our lines and the firing continued until 
after dark. 

About 10 P. M., Lawton 's and Trimble's brigades advanced to the front to 
relieve the command of Brigadier-general Hood (on the left of Major-general 
D. H. Hill), which had been more or less engaged during the evening. Trim- 
ble's brigade was posted on the right, next to Ripley's, of D. H. Hill's division, 
and Lawton's on the left. 



132 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

and looking towards the Blue Ridge, the eye ranges over the 
greater porlion of the eventful field. To the right and left is 
a succession of hills, which were occupied by the Confederates. 
In front is the beautiful valley of the Antietani, divided longitu- 

The troops slept that night upon their arms, disturbed by the occasional fire 
of the pickets of the two armies, who were in close proximity to each other. At 
the first dawn of day, skirmishing commenced in front, and in a short time the 
Federal batteries, so posted on the opposite side of the Antietam as to enfilade 
my line, opened a severe and damaging fire. This was vigorously replied to 
by the batteries of Poague, Carpenter, Brockenbrough, Raine, Caskie, and 
Wooding. About sunrise the Federal infantry advanced in heavy force to the 
edge of the wood on the eastern side of the turnpike, driving in our skirmishers. 
Batteries were opened in front from the wood with shell and canister, and our 
troops became exi)Osed, for near an hour, to a terrific storm of shell, canister, 
and musketry. Gen. Jones having been compelled to leave the field, the com- 
mand of Jackson's division devolved upon Gen. Starke. With heroic spirit our 
lines advanced to the conflict and maintained their position in the face of supe- 
rior numbers. With stubborn resolution, sometimes driving the enemy before 
them and sometimes compelled to fall back, before their well-sustained and 
destructive fire. Fresh troops from time to time relieved the enemy's ranks, 
and the carnage on both sides was terrific. At this early hour Gen. Starke 
was killed. Col. Douglas (commanding Lawton's brigade) was also killed ; Gen. 
Lawton, commanding division, and Col. Walker, commanding brigade, were 
severely wounded. More than half of the brigades of Lawton and Hays were 
either killed or wounded, and more than a third of Trimble's, and all the regi- 
mental commanders in those brigades except two were killed or wounded. 
Thinned in their ranks and exhausted of their ammunition, Jackson's division 
and the brigades of Lawton, Hays, and Trimble retired to the rear, and Hood, 
of Long-street's command, again took the position from which he had been be- 
fore relieved. 

In the mean time. Gen. Stuart moved his artillery to a position nearer to the 
main command and more in our rear. Early being now directed, in conse- 
quence of the disability of Gen. Lawton, to take command of Ewell's division, 
returned with his brigade (with the exception of the 13th Virginia regiment, 
which remained with Gen. Stuart), to the piece of wood where he had left the 
other brigades of his division when he was separated from them. Here he 
found that the enemy had advanced his infantry near the wood in which was 
the Dunkard church, and planted a battery across the turnpike near the edge 
of the wood and an open field, and that the brigades of Lavrton, Hays, and 
Trimble had fallen back some distance to the rear. Finding here Cols. Grigsby 
and Stafford with a portion of Jackson's division, which formed on his left, he 
determined to maintain his position there if reinforcements could be sent to his 
support, of which he was promptly assured. Col. Grigsby, with his small com- 
mand, kept in check the advance of the enemy on the left flank while Gen. 
Early attacked with great vigor and gallantry the coluom on his right and 
front. The force in front was giving way under this attack, when another 
heavy column of Federal troops were seen moving across the plateau on his 
left flank. By tliis time the expected reinforcements, consisting of Semmes' 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 133 

dinally by the river, which empties into the Potomac on your 
right, and behind, forming a background to the picture ; only 
two miles distant are the steep, umbrageous sides of the Blue 
Eidge. 

and Anderson's brigades, and a part of Barksdale's of McLaw's division, arrived, 
and tlie whole, including Grisby's command, now united, charged upon the 
enemy, checking his advance, then driving him back with great slaughter en- 
tirely from and beyond the wood, and gaining possession of our original position. 
No further advance, beyond demonstrations, was made by the enemy on the 
left. In the afternoon, in obedience to instructions from the commanding gen- 
eral, I moved to the left with a view of turning the Federal right, but I found 
his numerous artillery so judiciously established in their front and extending 
so near to the Potomac, which here makes a remarkable bend, which will be seen 
by reference to the map herewith annexed, as to render it inexpedient to hazard 
the attempt. In this movement Major-gen. Stuart had the advance and acted 
his part well. This officer rendered valuable ser\ace throughout the day. His 
bold use of artillery secured for us an important position, which, had the enemy 
possessed, might have commanded our left. At the close of the day my troops 
held the groimd which they had occupied in the morning. The next day we 
remained in position awaiting another attack. The enemy continued in heavy 
force west of the Antietam on our left, but made no further movement to the 
attack. 

I refer you to the report of Major-gen. A. P. Hill for the operations of his com- 
mand in the battle of Sharpsburg. Arriving upon the battle-field from Har- 
per's Ferry at half-past two o'clock of the 17th, he reported to the commanding 
general, and was by him directed to take position on the right. I have not 
embraced the movements of his division, nor his kiUed and wounded of that 
action in my report. 

Early on the morning of the 19th we recrossed the Potomac river into Vir- 
ginia, near Shepherdstown. The promptitude and success with which this 
movement was effected reflected the highest credit upon the skill and energy 
of Major Harman, chief quartermaster. In the evening the command moved on 
the road leading to Martinsburg, except Lawton's brigade (CJol. Lamar, of the 
61st Georgia, commanding), which was left on the Potomac Heights. 

On the same day the enemy approached in considerable force on the northern 
side of the Potomac, and commenced planting heavy batteries on its heights. 
In the evening the Federals commenced crossing under the protection of their 
guns, di'iving off Lawton's brigade, and Gen. Pendleton's artillery. By morn- 
ing a considerable force had crossed over. Orders were dispatched to Gens. 
Early and Hill, who had advanced some four miles on the Martinsburg road, to 
return and drive back the enemy. 

Gen. Hill, w-ho was in the advance, as he approached the town, formed his 
line of battle in two lines, the first composed of the brigades of Pender, Gregg, 
and Thomas, under the command of Gen. Gregg ; and the second of Lane's, 
Archer's, and Brockenbrough's brigades, imder command of Gen. Archer. 
Gen. Early, with the brigades of Early, Trimble, and Hays, took position in the 
wood on the right and left of the road leading to the ford. The Federal infan- 
try lined the high banks of the Virginia shore, while their artillery, formidable 



134 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

The morning of the lYth found Gen. Lee strongly posted, 
but with no more than forty -five thousand men when the bat- 
tle commenced. The force of the enemy could not have been 
much short of one hundred and fifty thousand men, of whom 
one hundred thousand were trained soldiers, disciplined in camp 
and field since the commencement of the war. 

The forces of the enemy were commanded by McClellan in 
person, and numbered the whole command of Gen. Burnside, 
recently augmented by the addition of several new regiments; 
the army corps lately under Gen. McDowell, now under com- 
mand of Gen. Hooker ; Gen. Sumner's corps ; Gen. Franklin's 
corps ; Gen. Banks' corps, commanded by Gen. Williams ; and 
Sykes' division of Fitz John Porter's corps. Their line of 
battle was between four and five miles long, with their left 
stretching across the Sharpsburg road. Burnside was on the 
extreme left; Porter held a commanding eminence to the right 

in nvimbers and weight of metal, cro-\vned the opposite heights of the Potomac. 
Gen. Hill's division advanced with great gallantry against the infantry, in the 
face of a continued discharge of shot and shell from their batteries. The Fed- 
erals massing m front of Pender, poured a heavy fire into his ranks, and then 
extending with a view to turn his left. Archer promptly formed on Pender's 
left, when a simultaneous charge was made, which drove the enemy into the 
river, followed by an appalling scene of the destruction of human life. Two 
hundred prisoners were taken. This position on the banks of the river we con- 
tinued to hold that day, although exposed to the enemy's guns and within 
range of his sharpshooters posted near the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Our 
infantry remained at the river until relieved by cavalry under Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. 

On the evening of the 20th the command moved from Shepherdstown and 
encamped near the Opequon, in the vicinity of Martinsburg. We remained near 
Martinsburg until the 27th, when we moved to Bunker Hill, in the county of 
Berkeley. The ofiBcial lists of the casualties of my -command during the period 
embraced in this report, will show that we sustained a loss of 38 officers killed, 
171 wounded ; of 313 non-commissioned officers and privates killed, 1,859 wound- 
ed ; and missing 57 — making a total loss of 2,438, killed, wounded, and missing. 

For these great and signal victories our sincere and humble thanks are due 
unto Almighty God. Upon all appropriate occasions we should acknowledge 
the hand of Him who reigns in heaven and rules among the powers of the earth. 
In view of the arduous labors and great privations which the troops were called 
on to endure, and the isolated and perilous position which the command occu- 
pied while engaged with the greatly superior force of the enemy, we feel the 
encouraging consolation that God was with us and gave to us the victory, and 
unto His holy name be all gratitude and praise. 

I am, general, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

T. J. Jackson, Lieutenant-general. 



THE SECOND YKAR OF THE WAR. 135 

of Burnside, though Warren's brigade of Porter's corps was 
subsequently posted in the woods on the left in support of 
Burnside's men ; Sumner's corps was on an eminence next to 
the right, or north from Porter, and Gen. Hooker had the 
extreme right. 

On the afternoon of Tuesday, the 16th, the enemy opened 
a light artillery fire on our lines. At three next morning 
every man was at his post, and awaited in solemn silence the 
day dawn. No sooner did the light break in the east than the 
picket firing began, and increased in fury until about sunrise, 
when artillery and infantry together grappled in the terrible 
fight. 

Large masses of the Federals, who had crossed the Antietam 
above our position, assembled on our left. They advanced in 
three compact lines. The divisions of Generals McLaws, R. H. 
Anderson, A. P. Hill and Walker, who were expected to have 
joined Gen. Lee on the previous night, had not come up. Gen- 
erals Jackson's and Swell's divisions w^ere thrown to the left of 
Generals Hill and Longstreet. The enemy advanced between 
the Antietam and the Sharpsburg and Hagerstown turnpike, 
and was met by Gen. D. H, Hill's and the left of Gen. Long- 
street's divisions, where the conflict raged, extending to our 
entire left. 

When the troops of D. H. Hill were engaged, the battle 
raged with uncommon fury. Backwards, forwards, surging 
and swaying like a ship in storm, the various columns are seen 
in motion. It is a hot place for the eneni}'. They are directly 
under our guns, and we mow them down like grass. The raw 
levies, sustained by the veterans behind, come up to the work 
well, and fight for a short time with an excitement incident to 
their novel experiences of a battle ; but soon a portion of their 
line gives way in confusion. Their reserves come up, and 
endeavor to retrieve the fortunes of the day. Our centre, how- 
ever, stands firm as adamant, and they fall back. 

Prior to the arrival of the divisions of McLaws, Anderson 
and Walker, who had been advanced to support the left wing 
and centre, as soon as they had crossed the Potomac on the 
morning of the 17th, that portion of our line was forced back 
by superior numbers. As soon, however, as these forces could 
be brought into action, the enemy was driven back, our line 



136 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

was restored, and our position maintained during the rest of 
tlie day. 

Time and again did the Federals perseveringly press close 
up to our ranks — so near, indeed, that their supporting bat- 
teries were obliged to cease firing, lest they should kill their own 
men, but just as often were they driven back, by the combined 
elements of destruction which we brought to bear upon them. 
It was an hour when every man was wanted. And nobly did 
our brave soldiers do their duty. "It is beyond all wonder," 
writes a Federal officer, " how men such as the rebel troops 
are can fight as they do. That those ragged wretches, sick, 
hungry, and in all ways miserable, should prove such heroes 
in fight, is past explanation. Men never fought better. There 
was one regiment that stood up before the fire of two or three 
of our long-range batteries and of two regiments of infantry ; 
and though the air around them was vocal with the whistle of 
bullets and the scream of shells, there they stood and delivered 
their fire in perfect order."* 

In the afternoon the enemy advanced on our right, where 
Gen. Jones' division was posted, and he handsomely main- 
tained his position. Tlie bridge over the Antietam creek was 
guarded by Gen. Toombs' brigade, which gallantly resisted the 
approach of the enemy ; but their superior numbers enabling 
them to extend their left, they crossed below the bridge, and 
forced our line back in some confusion. 

Our troops fought until they were nearly cut to pieces, and 
then retreated only because they had tired their last round. 
It was at this juncture that the immense Yankee force crossed 
the river, and made the dash against our line, which well-nigh 



* There are some characteristic anecdotes of the close quarters in which the 
battle of Sharpsburg was fought, and the desperate valor shown in such straits. 
At one passage of the battle. Col. Geary, of the famous Hamilton Legion, one 
of the most celebrated corps of the army, found himself confronted by an over- 
whelming force of the enemy. An officer came forward and demanded his sur- 
render. " Surrender ! Hell!" exclaimed the intrepid South Carolinian, as with 
the spring of a tiger he seized the officer and clapped a pistol to his head, '' if 
you don't surrender your own command to me this instant, you infernal scoun- 
drel, I'll blow your brains out." The astonished and aflfrighted Yankee called 
out that he surrendered. But his men were not as cowardly as himself, and 
the flag of the regiment he commanded was only taken after the color-beajer 
had been cut down by our swords. 



THE SKCOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 137 

proved a success. But it was at this moment also that wel- 
come and long-expected reinforcements reached us. At four 
o'clock in the afternoon Gen. A. P. Hill's division came up and 
joined the Confederate right. It was well that Gen. Burnside's 
advance on the Federal left was so long delayed, and was 
eventually made with overwhelming numbers. The day closed 
with Gen. Burnside clinging closely to the bridge, beyond 
which he coiild not advance, with Gen. Jackson on the same 
ground as the Confederates held in the morning, upon as level 
and drawn a battle as history exhibits. But it was fought for 
half the day with 45,000 men on the Confederate side, and for 
the remaining half with no more than an aggregate of 70,000 
men, against a host which is admitted to have consisted of 
130,000, and may have been more. 

It is certain that if we had had fresh troops to hurl against 
Burnside at the bridge of Antietam, the day would have been 
ours. The anxious messages of this officer to McClellan for 
reinforcements were again and again repeated as the evening 
wore on, and the replies of that commander showed that he 
understood where was the critical point of the battle. As the 
sun was sinking in the west, he dispatched orders to Gen. 
Burnside, urging him to hold his position, and as the messen- 
ger was riding away he called him back — " Tell him if he 
cannot hold his ground, then the bridge, to the last man ! — 
always the bridge ! If the bridge is lost, all is lost." 

The enemy held the bridge, but of other portions of the 
field we retained possession. Varying as may have been the 
successes of the day, they left us equal masters of the field 
with our antagonist. But our loss had been considerable ; it 
was variously estimated from five to nine thousand ; and we 
had to 'deplore the fall of Gens. Branch and Starke, with 
other brave and valuable officers. The loss of the enemy was 
not less than our own.* They had fought well and been ably 



* The New York Tribune said : " The dead lie in heaps, and the wounded 
are coining in by thousands. Around and in a large barn about half a mile 
from the spot where Gen. Hooker engaged the enemy's left, there were counted 
1,250 wounded. In Sumner's corps alone, our loss in killed, wounded and 
missing amounts to five thousand two hundred and eight. The 15th Massa- 
chusetts regiment went into the battle with five hundred and fifty men, and 
came out with one hundred and fifty-six. The 19tli Massachusetts, of four 



138 THK SKCOND YEAR OF TilK WAR. 

commanded. But, they had the advantage not onl}'- of num- 
bers, but of a position from which they could assume an offen- 
sive or defensive attitude at will, besides which their signal 
stations on the Blue Ridge commanded a view of our every 
movement. 

The battle-field of Sharpsburg will long be remembered from 
the terrible and hideous circumstances that so many of the 
dead were left unburied upon it. Some of them laid with their 
faces to the ground, whither they had turned in the agony of 
death, and in whicli position they had died ; others were heap- 
ed in piles of three and four together, with their arms inter- 
locked, and their faces turned upwards towards the sky. Scores 
of them wxre laid out in rows, as though the death-shot had 
penetrated their breasts as they were advancing to the attack. 
Covered with mud and dust, with their faces and clothes smear- 
ed with blood and gore, there they rotted in the sun ! 

The close of this great battle left neither army in a condition 
to renew the conflict, although our own brave troops were des- 
perately ready to do so. But the next morning McClellan had 
disappeared from our front, and, knowing the superiority of 
the enemy's numbers, and not willing to risk the combinations 
he was attempting. Gen. Lee crossed the Putomac without mo- 
lestation, and took position at or near Shepherdstown, 

The enemy claimed a victory, but the best evidence, if any 
were wanting, to prove that he w^as really defeated and his 
army crippled, is found in the fact that he did not renew the 
fight on the succeeding day, and on the next permitted Gen. 
Lee to recross the Potomac without an attempt to obstruct 
him. The pretence of victory on this occasion cost McClellan 
his command. On the 20th of September he made a feint or 
a weak and hesitating attempt to cross the Potomac at Shep- 
herdstown, when the column which had crossed was fallen 
upon by A. P. Hill and pushed into the river, which was filled 
with the dead and wounded attempting to escape. 

The -charges against McClellan consequent upon his pre- 

hundreci and six, lost all but one hundred and forty-seven. The 5th New 
Hampshire, about three hundred strong, lost one hundred and ten enlisted 
men and fourteen oflBcers. Massachusetts, out of eight regiments engaged, 
loses upwards of fifteen hundred, and Pennsylvania has suffered more than 
any other State." 



THE SECOND YKAB OF THE WAK. 139 

tended victory, were sustained by the official testimony of the 
Yankee commander-in-chief. The report of Gen. Halleck ac- 
cused McClellan of disobedience of orders, in refusing to ad- 
vance against the enemy after the battle of Sharpsburg, upon 
the plea that the army lacked shoes, tents, stores, and other 
necessaries, which Gen. Halleck lield to be entirely unfounded, 
asserting that all the wants of the army were duly cared for, 
and that any causes of delay that might have occurred were 
trivial and speedily remedied. He furthermore charged 
McClellan with willful neglect of a peremptory order of the 
6th of October to cross the Potomac immediately, to give battle 
to the Confederates or to drive them south. 

A fatal consequence to the Yankees of the campaign in 
Maryland was the sacrifice to popular clamor and official envy 
of him whom they had formerly made their military pet and 
" l^Tapoleon," and who, although the extent of his pretensions 
was ridiculous, was really esteemed in the South as the ablest 
general in the North. The man who succeeded him in the com- 
mand of the army of the Potomac was Gen. Ambrose Burn- 
side, of Rhode Island. He had served during the Mexican 
war as a second lieutenant ; and at the time he was raised to 
his important command, the captain of the company with 
which he had served in Mexico, Edmund Barry, was a recruit- 
ing agent in Richmond for the " Maryland Line." 

"We have perhaps imperfectly sketched the movements of 
the Maryland campaign.* But we have sought to determine 



* It would be diflBcult to find a more just summary of the campaign in North- 
ern Virginia and on the Upper Potomac, or one the statements of wliich may 
be more safely appropriated by history than the following address of Gen. Lee 
to his army : 

Headqtjahters Army Northern Virginia, ) 
October 2d, 18G2. [ 

Oeneral Orders, No. 116. 

In reviewing the achievements of the army during the present campaign, the 
(ymmanding general cannot withhold the expression of his admiration of the 
indomitable courage it has displayed in battle, and its cheerful endm-ance of 
privation and hardship on the march. 

Since your great victories around Richmond you have defeated the enemy at 
Cedar Mountain, expelled him from the Eappahannock, and, after a conflict of 
three days, utterly repulsed him on the Plains of Manassas, and forced him to 
take shelter within the fortifications around his capital. 

Without halting for repose you crossed the Potomac, stormed the heights of 



140 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

its historical features without any large enumeration of details. 
It was mixed with much of triumph to us ; it added lustre to 
our arms ; it inflicted no loss upon us for which we did not ex- 
act full retribution ; it left the enemy nothing but barren re- 
sults ; and it gave us a valuable lesson of the state of public 
opinion in Maryland. 

There is one point to which the mind naturally refers for a 
just historical interpretation of the Maryland campaign. The 
busy attempts of newspapers to pervert the truth of history 
were renewed in an effort to misrepresent the designs of Gen. 
Lee in crossing the Potomac, as limited to a mere incursion, 
the object of which was to take Harper's Ferry, and that ac- 
complished, to return into Virginia and await the movements 
of McClellan. It is not possible that our commanding gene- 
ral can be a party to this pitiful deceit, to cover up any failure 
of his, or that he has viewed with any thing but disgust the 
offer of falsehood and misrepresentation made to him by flat- 
terers. 



Harper's Ferry, made prisoners of more than eleven thousand men, and captured 
upwards of seventy pieces of artillery, all their small arms and other munitions 
of war. 

While one corps of the army was thus engaged, the other insured its success 
by arresting at Boonesboro' the combined armies of the enemy, advancing under 
their favorite general to the relief of their beleaguered comrades. 

On the field of Sharpsburg, with less than one-third his numbers, you resisted, 
from daj^light until dark, the whole army of the enemy, and repulsed every at- 
tack along his entire front, of more than four miles in extent. 

The whole of the following day you stood prepared to resume the conflict on 
the same ground, and retired next morning, without molestation, across the 
Potomac. 

Two attempts, subsequently made by the enemy to follow you across the 
river, have resulted in his complete discomfiture, and being driven back with 
loss. 

Achievements such as these demanded much valor and patriotism. His- 
tory records few examples of greater fortitude and endurance than this army 
has exhibited ; and I am commissioned by the President to thank you, in the 
name of the Confederate States, for the imdying fame you have won for their 
arms. 

Much as you have done, much more remains to be accomplished. The 
enemy again threatens us with invasion, and to your tried valor and patriot- 
ism the country looks with confidence for deliverance and safety. Your past 
exploits give assurance that this confidence is not misplaced. 

R. E. Lee, 
General Commanding. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 141 

Let it be freely confessed, that the object of Gen. Lee in 
crossing the Potomac was to hold and occupy Maryland ; that 
his proclamation issued at Frederick, offering protection to the 
Marylanders, is incontrovertible evidence of this fact ; that he 
was forced to return to Virginia, not by stress of any single 
battle, but by the force of many circumstances, some of which 
history should blush to record ; that, in these respects, the 
Maryland campaign was a failure. But it was a failure re- 
lieved by brilliant episodes, mixed with at least one extra- 
ordinary triumph of our arms, and to a great extent compen- 
sated by many solid results. 

In the brief campaign in Maryland, our army had given the 
most brilliant illustrations of valor ; it had given the enemy at 
Harper's Ferry a reverse without parallel in the history of the 
war; it had inflicted upon him a loss in men and material 
greater than our own ; and in retreating into Virginia, it left 
him neither spoils nor prisoners, as evidence of the successes 
he claimed. The indignant comment of the New York Tribune 
on Lee's retirement into Virginia is the enemy's own record of 
the barren results that were left them. " He leaves us," said 
this paper, " the debris of his late camps, tw^o disabled pieces 
of artillery, a few hundred of his stragglers, perhaps two thou- 
sand of his wounded, and as many more of his unburied dead. 
Not a sound field-piece, caisson, ambulance, or wagon, not a 
tent, a box of stores, or a pound of ammunition. He takes 
with him the supplies gathered in Maryland, and the rich spoils 
of Harper's Ferry." The same paper declared, that the failure 
of Maryland to rise, or to contribute recruits (all the acces- 
sions to our force, obtained in this State, did not exceed eight 
hundred men), was the defeat of Lee, and about the only defeat 
he did sustain ; that the Confederate losses proceeded mainly 
from the failure of their own exaggerated expectations ; that 
Lee's retreat over the Potomac was a masterpiece ; and that 
the manner in which he combined Hill and Jackson for the en- 
velopment of Harper's Feri-y, while he checked the Federal 
columns at Hagerstown Heights and Crampton Gap, was prob- 
ably the best achievement of the war. 

The failure of the people of Maryland to respond to the 
proclamation of Gen, Lee issued at Frederick, inviting them 
to his standard, and generously assuring protection to all classes 



142 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of politiCcal opinion, admits of some excuse; but the expla- 
nations commonly made on this subject do not amount to their 
vindication. It is true that when Gen. Lee was in Frederick, 
he was forty -five miles from the city of Baltimore — a city 
surrounded by Federal bayonets, zealously guarded by an armed 
Federal police, and lying in the shadow of Fort Mcllenry 
and of two powerful fortifications located within the limits of 
the corporation. It is true that onr army passed only through 
two of the remote counties of the State, namely Frederick 
and Washington, which, with Carroll and Alleghany, are well 
known to contain the most violent " Union " population in 
Maryland. It is true that the South could not have expected 
a welcome in these counties or a desperate mutiny for the 
Confederacy in Baltimore. But it was expected that Southern 
sympathizers in other parts of the State, who so glibly ran the 
blockade on adventures of trade, might as readily work their 
way to the Confederate army as to the Confederate markets ; 
and it was not expected that the few recrnits who timidly ad- 
vanced to our lines would have been so easily dismayed by the 
rags of our soldiers and by the prospects of a service that prom- 
ised equal measures of hardship and glory. 

The army which rested again in Virginia had made a history 
that will flash down the tide of time a lustre of glory. It had 
done an amount of marching and fighting that appears almost 
incredible, even to those minds familiar with the records of 
great military exertions. Leaving the banks of James river, 
it proceeded directly to the line of the Rappahannock, and 
moving out from that river, it fought its way to the Potomac, 
crossed that stream, and moved on to Fredericktown and Ha- 
gerstown, had a heavy engagement at the mountain gaps be- 
low, fought the greatest pitched battle of the war at Sharps- 
burg, and then recrossed the Potomac back into Virginia. 
During all this time, covering the full space of a month, the 
troops rested but four days. Of the men who performed these 
wonders, one-fifth of them were barefoot, one-half of them in 
rags, and the whole of them half famished. 

The remarkable campaign which we have briefly sketched, 
extending from the banks of the James river to those of the 
Potomac, impressed the world with wonder and admiration, 
excited an outburst of applause among living nations, which 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 143 

anticipated the verdict of posterity, and set the whole of 
Europe ringing with praises of the heroism and fighting quali- 
ties of the Southern armies. The South was already obtain- 
ing some portion of the moral rewards of this war, in the esti- 
mation in which she was held by the great martial nations of 
the world. She had purchased the rank with a bloody price. 
She had extorted homage from the most intelligent and influ- 
ential organs of public opinion in the Old World, from men 
well versed in the history of ancient and modern times, and 
from those great critics of contemporary history, which are 
least accustomed to the language of extravagant compliment. 

The following tribute from the London Times — the great 
organ of historic precedent and educated, opinion in the Old 
World — was echoed by the other journals of Europe: 

" The people of the Confederate States have made themselves 
famous. If the renown of brilliant courage, stern devotion to 
a cause, and military achievements almost without a parallel, 
can compensate men for the toil and privations of the hour, 
then the countrymen of Lee and Jackson may be consoled 
amid their sufferings. From all parts of Europe, from their 
enemies as well as their friends, from those who condemn their 
acts as well as those who sympathize v/ith them, comes the 
tribute of admiration. When the history of this war is written, 
the admiration will doubtless become deeper and stronger, for 
the veil which has covered the South will be drawn away and 
disclose a picture of patriotism, of unanimous self-sacrifice, of 
wise and firm administration, which we can now only see in- 
distinctly. The details of extraordinary national effort which 
has led to the repulse and almost to the destruction of an in- 
vading force of more than half a million men, will then become 
known to the world, and whatever may be the fate of the new 
nationality, or its subsequent claims to the respect of mankind, 
it will assuredly begin its career with a reputation for genius 
and valor which the most famous nations may envy." 

It is at first appearance strange, that while such was the 
public opinion in England of our virtues and abilities, that that 
government should have continued so unjust and obstinate with 
respect to our claims for recognition. But the explanation is 
easy. The demonstrations of the conflict which awakened such 
generous admiration of us in the breasts of a majority of the 



144 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

English people were to the government tlie subjects only of 
jealous and interested views. We had trusted too much to 
manifestations of public opinion in England ; we had lost sight 
of the distinction between the people and government of that 
country, and had forgotten that the latter had, since the be- 
ginning of this war, been cold and reserved, had never given 
us any thing to hope from its sympathies or its principles, and 
had limited its action on the American question to the unfeel- 
ing and exacting measures of selfishness. 

The bloody and unhappy revelation which the war has made 
of enormous military resoui'ces has naturally given to Europe-, 
and especially to England, an extraordinary interest in its con- 
tinuation. It is pi;pbable that she would nqt have hesitated to 
recognize tlie South, unless firmly persuaded of our ability and 
resolution to carry on the war, and unless she had another ob- 
ject to gain besides that of a permanent division in the nation- 
•ality and power of her old rival. That object was the exhaus- 
tion of both North and South. England proposed to effect the 
continuation of the war, as far as possible, to the mutual ruin 
of the two nations engaged in it, by standing aside and trusting 
that after vast expenditures of blood and waste of resources the 
separation of the Union would be quite as surely accomplished 
by the self-devotion of the South, as by the less profitable mode 
of foreign intervention. 

In this unchristian and inhuman calculation, England had 
rightly estimated the resolution and spirit of the South. We 
were prepared to win our independence with the great prices 
of blood and suflTering that she had named. But we under- 
stood what lurked behind the mask of British conscience, and 
we treasured the lesson for the future. 



OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS IN THE WAR. 

It is not amiss in this connection to make a summary in ref- 
erence to the relations between the Confederacy and the neu- 
tral powers of Europe during the progress of the war to the 
present period of our narrative. 

The confederation of the Southern States in 1861 was the 
third political union that had been formed between the States 
of North America. The first act of secession dates as far back 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 145 

as 1789, when eleven of the States, becoming dissatisfied with 
the old articles of confederation made in 17T8, seceded and 
formed a second miion. When in 1861 eleven of the States 
again seceded and nnited themselves under the style of the 
Confederate States of North America, they exercised a right 
which required no justification, and which in a former instance 
had not been contested by any party at home, or made the sub- 
ject of discussion with any third power. 
• On every attempt for the opening of formal diplomatic in- 
tercourse with the European powers, the commissioners of the 
Confederate States had met with the objection that these pow- 
ers could not assume to judge between the conflicting represen- 
tations of the two parties as to the true nature of their previous 
mutual relations ; and that they were constrained by interna- 
tional usage and the considerations of propriety to recognize 
the self-evident fact of the existence of a war, and to maintain 
a strict neutrality during its progress. 

On this neutrality, two remarks are to be made : 

First. It was founded upon the grave error that the separate 
sovereignty and indepefhdence of the States had been merged 
into one common sovereignty ; an error easily induced by the 
delegation of power granted by these States to the Federal gov- 
ernment to represent them in foreign intercourse, but one that 
should have been as easily dispelled by appeals to reason and 
historical fact. 

Secondly. The practical operation of this falsely assumed and 
falsely named " neutrality " was an actual decision against the 
rights of the South, and had been but little short of active hos- 
tilities against her. 

By the governments pf England and France, the doctrines 
announced in the treaty of Paris were ignored, and the mon- 
strous Yankee blockade, by some forty or fifty vessels, of a 
coast line nearly three thousand miles in extent, came to be 
acknowledged and respected. When this recognition of the 
blockade was made, it is very certain that the whole Yankee 
navy, if employed on that service and nothing else, could not 
furnish vessels enough to pass signals from point to point along 
the coast. At the time this paper blockade was declared and 
acknowledged, the Navy Register shows that the Federal Gov- 
ernment Ijad in commission but forty vessels, all told. These 

10 



146 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

were scattered over tlie world : some of them were in the China 
seas, some in the Pacific, some in the Mediterranean, some in 
our own part of tlie world, and some in another. The actual 
force employed in the blockading service did not give one ves- 
sel for every fifty miles of coast. In addition to these con- 
siderations, it had been shown by unquestionable evidence, fur- 
nished in part by the officials of the European powers them- 
selves, that the few Southern ports really guarded by naval 
forces of the Yankees had been invested so inefficiently that 
hundreds of entries had been effected into them since the dec- 
laration of the blockade. 

During nearly two years of struggle had this boasted " neu- 
trality" of the European powers operated as active hostility 
against us, for they had helped the enemy to prevent us, with 
a force which was altogether inadequate, from obtaining sup- 
plies of prime necessity. 

Nor was this all. We had no commerce ; but in that the 
enemy was rich. We had no navy ; in that he was strong. 
Therefore, when England and her allies declared that neither 
the armed cruisers nor the prizes of either of the belligerents 
should have hospitality and protection in neutral ports, the 
prohibition, directed against both belligerents, was in reality 
efiective against the Confederate States alone, for they alone 
could find a hostile commerce on the ocean. 

Thus it was that, in the progress of the war, the neutral 
nations of Europe had pursued a policy which, nominally im- 
partial, had been practically most favorable to our enemies 
and most detrimental to us. 

The temper which this injustice produced in the South was 
fortunate. The South was conscious ^f powers of resistance of 
which the world was incredulous ; and the first feverish ex- 
pectations of recognition by the European powers were re- 
placed by a proud self-reliance and a calm confidence, which 
were forming our national character, while contributing at the 
same time to the innnediate successes of our arms. 

The recognition by France and England of Lincoln's paper 
blockade, had by no means proved an unmitigated evil to us. 
It had forced us into many branches of industry, into which, 
but for that blockade, we should have never entered. We had 
excellent powder-mills of our own, and fine arjn^-ies which 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 147 

turned out muskets, rifles, sabres, &c. The war found no 
more than half a dozen furnaces in blast in the whole Confed- 
eracy, and most of those had been destroyed by the enemy. 
But the government had given such encouragement to the iron 
men that new mines had been opened in other parts of the 
Confederacy, and furnaces enough were already up or in the 
course of erection, to supply the wants of the government. In 
the last spring we had planted not more than one-fourth of the 
usual breadth of land in cotton, and our surplus labor was di- 
rected to breadstuffs and provisions. All these were the fruits 
to us of a blockade which threatened England especially with 
a terrible reaction of her own injustice, and was laying up a 
store of retribution for Europe. 



148 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER Y. 

Movements in the West. — The splendid Programme of the Yankees. — Kentvicky 
the critical Point. ^Gen. Kirby Smilli's Advance into Kentucky. — Thk Battle or 
EicHMOND. — Reception of the Confederates in Lexington. — Expectation of an Attack 
on Cincinnati. — Gen. Bragg's Plans. — Smith's Movement to Bragg's Lines. — Escape 
of the Yankee Forces from Cumberland Gap. — Affair of Munfordsville. — Gen. Bragg 
between the Enemy and the Ohio. — An Opportunity for a decisive Blow. — Buell's 
Escape to Louisville. — The Inauguration of Governor at Frankfort. — An idle Cere- 
mony. — Probable Surprise of Gen. Bragg. — The Battle of Perktville. — Its Im- 
mediate Results in our Favor. — Bragg's failure to concentrate his Forces. — His Reso- 
lution of Retreat. — Scenes of the Retreat from Kentucky. — Errors of the Campaign. — 
A lame Excuse.— Public Sentiment in Kentucky. — The Demoralization of that 
State. — The Lessons of Submission. 

On the same day that victory perched on our banners on 
the plains of Manassas, an important success was achieved by 
our brave troops in another part of the Confederacy. A vic- 
tory gained at Richmond in Kentucky gave a companion to 
Manassas, and opened in the West a prospect of the advance 
of our troops simultaneous with the dawn of new hopes and 
aspirations in the East. 

A few paragraphs are sufficient for the rapid summary of 
events necessary to the contemplation of the situation in the 
West, in which the battle of Richmond was won. 

The North had prepared a splendid programme of opera- 
tions in the country west of the Alleghanies. But few persons 
on the Southern seaboard had adequate ideas of the grandeur 
of the enemy's preparations, or of the strength of the forces 
concentrating on the march in the Western country. These 
preparations exceeded in magnitude all military movements 
designed or attempted since the commencement of the war; 
for they contemplated not only the expulsion of our forces 
from Kentucky and Tennessee and the States west of the Mis- 
sissippi, but the penetration through the Gulf States of the 
heart of the South. The army, now well on its way into Mid- 
dle Tennessee, had Northern Alabama and Georgia for its 
ultimate destination ; that of Grant was already advanced into 
Mississippi ; that of McClernand, organizing at Columbus and 



TUB SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 149 

Memphis, was intended to operate on the Mississippi ; another 
army was already operating in Missouri and Arliansas ; and a 
gunboat fleet had been placed on the waters of the Mississippi, 
which was said to be terrible in destructiveness, and impreg- 
nable in strength. Such was the extent of the enemy's plans 
of campaign in the West. 

The situation left the South but little choice than tliat of 
making an aggressive movement by which North Alabama 
and Middle and East Tennessee might be cleared of the forces 
of the enemy, and they compelled to fall back to assist Gen. 
Buell in Kentucky — this State being fixed as the critical point 
in the West, and the field of the active campaign. The brief 
retirement of Gen. Beauregard from active command on ac- 
count of ill health, which was made shortly after his evacua- 
tion of Corinth, left the way open to the promotion of Gen. 
Bragg, a favorite of the administration, who had a certain 
military reputation, but, as an active commander in the field, 
had the confidence neither of the army nor of the public. 
The first steps of the campaign were easily decided by this 
commander : it was to use the forces of Gen. Kirby Smith to 
threaten Cincinnati, and thus distract the attention and divide 
the forces of the enemy ; while Gen. Bragg himself, co-opera- 
ting with Smith, was to fulfil the great purpose of the cam- 
paign, which was the expulsion of the enemy from Kentucky 
and the capture of Louisville — thus subjecting the whole of 
that great grain-growing and meat-producing commonwealth, 
with all its rich stores, to our control. 

Early in the month of August, Gen. McCown, under the 
orders of Gen. Smith, moved his division from London to 
Knoxville in East Tennessee. Thence our troops moved to 
the gaps in the Cumberland mountains, being joined by Clai- 
borne's division at the lower gap, when the whole force was 
ordered through, with the trains and artillery. From this time 
our troops made forced marches until they reached Barbours- 
ville, which is on the main thoroughfare by which the Yankees 
received their supplies at the gap by way of Lexington. Halt- 
ing there long enough only to get water, our wearied army 
was pushed on to the Cumberland ford. Here a few days' 
rest was allowed to the troops, who had performed their hard 
march over stony roads, with their almost bare feet, and with 



150 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

green corn garnished with a small supply of poor beef for 
their food. 



THE BATTLE OF RICHMOND. 

On the 29th of August our troops were in striking distance 
of the enemy at Richmond. Until our advance descended the 
Big Hill, it met with no opposition from the enemy. Here, 
on the morning of the 29th, the enemy was discovered to be 
in force in o«r front, and a bold reconnoissance of the cavalry 
under Colonel Scott, in the afternoon, indicated a determina- 
tion to give us battle. Although Churchill's division did not 
get up until quite late in the afternoon, and then in an appar- 
ently exhausted state. Gen. Smith determined to march to 
Richmond the next day, even at the cost of a battle with the 
whole force of the enemy. The leading division, under Gen. 
Claiborne, was moved early the next morning, and, after ad- 
vancing two or three miles, they found the enemy drawn up in 
line of battle in a fine position, near Mount Zion church, six 
miles from Richmond. Without waiting for Churchill's divi- 
sion, Claiborne at once commenced the action, and by half- 
past seven o'clock in the morning, the fire of artillery was 
brisk on both sides. As our force was almost too small to 
storm the position in front, without a disastrous loss. Gen, 
Churchill was sent with one of his brigades to turn the enemy's 
right. While this movement was being executed, a bold and 
well-conducted attempt on the part of the enemy, to turn 
Claiborne's right, was admirably foiled by the firmness of Col. 
Preston Smith's brigade, who repulsed the enemy with great 
slaughter. In the mean time Gen. Churchill had been com- 
pletely successful in his movement upon the enemy's right 
flank, where, by a bold charge, his men completed a victory 
already partially gained by the gallantry of our troops on the 
left. 

The Yankees having been repulsed and driven in confusion 
from this part of the field, might have retreated without risk- 
ing another passage at arms, had they not misapprehended our 
movements. 

Gen. Smith having ordered the cavalry to go around to the 
north of Richmond and attempt to cut oif the retreat of the 



THE SECOND TEAE OF THE WAK. 151 

enemy, our artillery ceased firing, and the enemy, thinking 
our army M'as preparing for a retreat, had the foolhardiness to 
rally on their own retreat and attempt a cliarge upon the 
Texas and Arkansas troops under McCray, who, to the great 
astonishment of the enemy, instead of running away, met 
them on the half-way ground. This gallant brigade of Texans 
and Arkansians had to fight the battle alone. Although the 
odds opposed to them were fearful, yet by reserving their own 
fire, under the deafening roar of the enemy's guns, and by a 
well-timed and dashing charge upon the advancing lines, they 
completely routed and put to flight the hosts of the enemy. 
They fled in the wildest confusion and disorder. Their knap- 
sacks, swords, pistols, hats, and canteens, scattered along the 
road, would have marked the route they travelled, even if their 
dead and dying had not too plainly showed the way. 

In passing a deserted camp of the enemy, Gen. Smith found 
from some of the wounded that Gen. Nelson, the Yankee com- 
mander, with reinforcements, had arrived after the second 
battle. A march of two miles brought us within sight of the 
town, in front of which, and on a commanding ridge, with both 
flanks resting upon woods, Nelson had determined to make a 
final stand. Churchill, with a brigade, was sent off to the left, 
when a deafening roar of musketry soon announced the raging 
of a furious combat. In the mean while, Preston Smith, bring- 
ing up his division at a double-quick, formed in front of the 
enemy's centre and left. Almost without waiting the com- 
mand of the ofiicers, this division coolly advanced under the 
murderous fire of a force twice their number, and drove them 
from the field in the greatest confusion, and with immense 
slaughter. The exhausted condition of our nien, together with 
ihe closing in of night, prevented the pursuit of the enemy 
mor-e than a mile beyond Richmond. 

The results of the day were gratifying enough. With less 
than half his force, Gen. Smith had attacked and carried a very 
strong position at Mount Zion church, after a hard fight of 
two hours. Again, a still better position at White's farm, in 
half an hour ; and finally, in the town of Richmond, just be- 
fore sunset, our indomitable troops deliberately walked (they 
were too tired to run) up to a magnificent position, manned by 
ten thousand of the enemy, many of them perfectly fresh, and 



152 THE SECOND YKAR OF THE WAK. 

carried it in fifteen minutes. In the last engagement, we took 
prisoners from thirteen regiments. Our loss in killed and 
wounded was about four hundred ; that of the enemy was 
about one thousand, and his prisoners five thousand. The im- 
mediate fruits of the victory were nine pieces of artillery and 
ten thousand small-arms, and a large quantity of supplies. 
These latter were greatly increased by the capture of Rich- 
mond and Frankfort, the whole number of cannon taken being 
about twenty. 

On the 1st day of September Gen. Smith took up the line ot 
march for Lexington ; and on the morning of the fourth day 
of that month, our forces, consisting of a Texas brigade and an 
Arkansas brigade, under the command of Gen. Churchill, and 
Gen. Claiborne's division and Gen. Heath's division, all under 
the command of Gen. Kirby Smith, marched through the city 
amidst the hearty and generous welcome of thousands of men, 
women, and children. 

The entrance of our troops into Lexington was the occasion 
of the most inspiriting and touching scenes. Streets, windows, 
and gardens were filled with ladies and little girls with stream- 
ers of red and blue ribbons and flags with stars. Beautiful 
women seized the hard brown hands of our rough and ragged 
soldiers, and with tears and smiles thanked them again and 
again for coming into Kentucky and freeing them from the 
presence and insults of the hated and insolent Yankees. For 
hours the enthusiasm of the people was unbounded. At every 
corner of the streets, baskets of provisions and buckets of water 
were placed for the refreshment of our weary soldiers, and hun- 
dreds of our men were presented with shoes and hats and coats 
and tobacco from the grateful people. Private residences 
were turned for the time into public houses of entertainment, 
free to all who could be persuaded to go and eat. But if the 
reception of the infantry was enthusiastic, the tears, the smiles, 
and shouts and cheers of wild delight which greeted Gen. 
John Morgan's cavalry as they came dashing through the 
streets amidst clouds of dust, was without a parallel. The 
wildest joy ruled the hours. The bells of the city pealed forth 
their joyous welcome, whilst the waving of thousands of white 
handkerchiefs and tiny Confederate flags attested j:he gladness 
and delight of every heart. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 153 

It would have been w^ell if the enthusiasm which welcomed 
Gen. Smith in this town could have been confirmed as a true 
token of the public sentiment of Kentucky. But while this 
sentiment was developing itself, the exultation which greeted 
our troops at Lexington was reflected in other parts of the Con- 
federacy ; and from the results already achieved iu the West- 
ern campaign, the Southern public was raised to the pinnacle 
of hopeful expectation. When it was known at the seat of 
government in Virginia that Gen. Smith, after crushing the 
force opposed to him at Richmond, had gone on and captured 
Lexington, Paris, and Cynthiana, and established his lines al- 
most in sight of Cincinnati, the public indulged the prospect 
of the speedy capture of this great city of the West, with its 
valuable stores and yards for building gunboats. What might 
have been the result of a sudden attack on this city (for one 
of our brigades was in striking distance of it) is left to conjec- 
ture. The order was to menace, not to attack ; and the pur- 
poses of the campaign projected by Gen. Bragg required that 
Smith's command, after making its demonstration on the Ohio, 
sh-ouldfall back into tlie interior to co-operate with the splen- 
did army he had already brought into Kentucky. 

Gen. Bragg had entered the State by the eastern route from 
Knoxville and Chattanooga. The direct route by the way of 
Nashville would have brought him on Buell's front ; but he 
chose to make the crossing of the Cumberland river several 
miles above Nashville, apparently with the design of making 
a flank movement on Buell. The immediate effect of this 
movement was to cause the Yankees to evacuate East Tennes- 
see, and to relieve North Alabama from Federal occupation ; 
but the enemy, learning that Cincinnati was not in immediate 
danger, had abundant time to remove the forces collected for 
the defence of that city, to be united with Buell's army in 
Kentucky. 

The sudden disappearance of Smith from in front of Cincin- 
nati, and the rapidity of his movement, intimated clearly 
enough that he was making a forced march to reach Bragg 
and strengthen him before a decisive trial of his strength with 
Buell. But the movement deprived us of a victory that might 
have been cheaply won ; for it gave opportunity of escape to 
the Yankee Gen. Morgan, who had been completely hemmed 



154 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAK. 

in at Cumberland Gap, witli an army of ten or twelve thou- 
sand men and abundance of arms and equipments. 

The distance to the Ohio river is about two hundred and 
fift}^ miles, and includes the most mountainous portions of Ken- 
tucky. There are scarcely fifty miles of the entire route in 
which there are not defiles and passes where a small force 
could have kept the enemy at bay. The famous cavalry com- 
mander, John H. Morgan, had been sent with a portion of his 
command to harass the retreating enemy ; and this intrepid 
officer, with seven hundred and fifty men, arrested the Yankee 
army for five days, and might have captured them with the 
half of Marshall's infantry, who were within little more than 
a day's march. But reinforcements were not sent forward, and 
no alternative was left to Morgan but — after inflicting such 
damage as he could upon the enemy — to rejoin Smith's march, 
which had now taken the direction of Frankfort. 

On the 17th of September, Gen. Bragg captured about five 
thousand of the enemy at Munfordsville, with the inconsider- 
able loss on our side of about fift}- men in killed and wounded. 
He had thrown his lines between Buell's force at BoVling' 
Green and Louisville, and it was confidently expected that he 
would engage him, drive him across the Ohio or the Missis- 
sippi, or at least disconcert his hopes of preparations and 
increase of forces at Louisville. Buell's entire force at this 
time was not computed at over thirty -five thousand, for which 
our army, in the best possible spirits and confidence, was an 
overmatch. 

It is probable that at this juncture the struggle in Kentucky 
might have been decided by a fight on a fair field with an 
army our inferior in all respects. Yiewed in the light of sub- 
sequent events, it is difficult to determine what good object 
Gen. Bragg could have had in declining a contest with the 
enemy but a few miles distant. It is still more inexplicable 
that after the success of Munfordsville he should have stood 
idly by and sufi'ered Buell and his wagon trains to pass be- 
tween him and the Ohio river, almost in sight of his lines. 
He had passed Buell to enter Kentucky, and having accom- 
plished it, his reasons for allowing his enemy to repass him and 
enter Louisville are inadmissible to any justification that can 
be offered by practical good sense. Whatever explanations 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 155 

have been made of them, it is certain that at this time the 
public has not abandoned its opinion, that General Bragg's 
failure to deliver battle at the important conjuncture which 
placed him between the enemy and the Ohio, was the fatal 
error of the Kentucky campaign. 

On the 4th of October, Gen. Bragg joined Smith's army at 
Frankfort, where was conducted the inauguration of the Pro- 
visional Governor of Kentucky, Mr. Hawes. This ceremony, 
however, was scarcely any thing more than a pretentious farce. 
Scarcely was it completed, when the Yankees threatened the 
State capital, and the newly installed Governor had to flee 
from their approach. The delusion, that Buell's army was 
quietly resting in Louisville, was dispelled by the news received 
at Frankfort on the inauguration day, to the effect that the 
Yankees were in large force within twelve miles of the place. 
But the apparent movement on Frankfort was a mere feint, 
while the enemy was concentrating to force our left wing near 
Perryville. 

THE BATTLE OF PEEEYVILLE. 

Having arrived at Harrodsburg from Frankfort, Gen. Bragg, 
finding the enemy pressing heavily in his rear near Perryville, 
determined to give him battle there, and ordered Gen. Polk to 
make the attack next day. But he had made an unfortunate 
disposition of his forces, for on the day before the division of 
Withers had been sent to Salvisa to reinforce Gen. Kirby 
Smith and cut off Sill's division. Hardee's and Buckner's 
divisions were marched to Perryville, leaving Gen. Cheatham's 
at Harrodsburg, which, however, came up to Perryville on the 
night of the 7th of October, before the engagement. Withers 
failed to intercept Gen. Sill's division, but captured the rear- 
guard, consisting of seven hundred and fifty men, with *an 
ammunition train ; and on the morning of the 9th, Gen. With- 
ers' and Gen. Kirby Smith's forces reached Harrodsburg, hav- 
ing been too late to participate in the decisive events of the 
preceding day. 

The morning of the 8th of October found not more than 
fifteen thousand Confederate troops confronting an enemy three 
times their numbers. The forces opposed to us at Perryville 



156 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

consisted of the right wing of the " Army of the Ohio," com- 
posed of Buell's veteran army, with Major-gen. Geo. W. Thomas 
as commander-in-chief of the iield, and Gen. Alex. McCook 
commanding the first corps. "We fought nine divisions of the 
Abolition army, composed at least of live thousand each, mak- 
ing forty -live thousand men. 

Gen. Buckner's division, which was posted on our extreme 
right, with Anderson's division, formed the left wing of the 
army of the Mississippi, under Major-gen. Hardee. Cheat- 
ham's and Withers' divisions formed the right wing, under 
Major-gen. Polk. Thus we had but three divisions in the 
field. 

The action opened a little past noon. It was only skirmish- 
ing for a considerable time. Col. Powell's brigade holding the 
extreme left of our lines, and gallantly driving the enemy 
back for about a mile against superior forces. It was about 
this time, towards 4 p. m., when Gen. Smith's brigade, belong- 
ing to Cheatham's division, was ordered back to our assistance, 
that Gen. Adams, with his brave Louisianians, was holding the 
enemy in check against fearful odds, when he was forced to fall 
back from his position. Gen. Hardee, seeing the importance 
of holding the point, ordered Gen. Adams to retake it, telling 
him he would be supported by reinforcements. It was while 
advancing again, and anxiously looking for the reinforcements, 
that Gen. Adams, seeing some soldiers firing at what he sup- 
posed to be our own men, ordered them to cease firing. " I 
tell you, sir, they are Yankees," cried one of the officers. " I 
think not, and you had better go forward first and ascertain," 
replied Adams. " I'll go, sir, but I don't think it necessary, 
for I know they are Yankees," insisted the officer. " Well," 
said Adams, " I'll go myself," and dashing forward on his 
charger, he had not proceeded one hundred yards when a fu- 
rious storm of Minie balls whizzed by his ears from the enemy. 
The general turned immediately, and riding up, shouted to 
our troops to pour in their fire. Towards six o'clock the firing 
became incessant on both sides. There stood Adams, with his 
little brigade, holding back a division of the enemy, 'left, as it 
were, alone to his fate, until, seeing no chance of being re- 
inforced, he gradually fell back, in most excellent order, but not 
without considerable loss. 



THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAK. 157 

Towards night the engagement subsided. Fearfully out- 
nTimbered, our troops had not hesitated to engage at any odds, 
and despite the checks they had encountered at times, the 
enemy was driven two miles from his first line of battle. As 
darkness fell, the conflict was over. A few shots from long- 
range gnns were exchanged. The full round moon rose in the 
east and lighted the dismal scene. In half an hour the picket 
fires of the opposing armies were visible five hundred yards 
distant, and our wearied men laid down on their arms. 

The immediate results of the battle of Perryville were in 
our favor. We had captured fifteen pieces of artillery by the 
most daring charges, had inflicted the loss of four thousand 
men on the enemy, and held several hundred of his prisoners. 
Our own loss was estimated at twenty-five hundred in killed, 
wounded, and missing. The enemy had lost one of their best 
generals on the field — Jackson. Seeing his men wavering, he 
had advanced to the front line, and, waving his sword, cheered 
and urged them on. While thi\s displaying an extraordinary 
courage he was struck in the right breast by a piece of an ex- 
ploded shell, and fell from his horse. It is said by those 
near him that he said only, " O God !" and died without a 
struggle. 

But the success of Perryville was of no importance to us ; 
it was merely a favorable incident and decided nothing. It is 
probable Gen. Bragg had it in his power here, by concentrat- 
ing his troops, to crush the enemy's force in Kentucky ; but 
he allowed himself to be deceived as to the disposition of the 
enemy's forces, scattered his own, and engaged and defeated 
the head of the Yankee column with less than fifteen thousand 
men.* Had he fallen with his whole available force, forty 
thousand men, on the enemy at Perryville, it is not improba- 
ble that he might have dispersed the Yankee army and given 
it such a blow that it would not have made a stand this side 
the Ohio river. 

* It is proper to state, that an apology for Gen. Bragg, in this matter, was 
oflFered in the public prints, to the effect that before the battle of Perryville 
Gen. Kirby Smith had communicated to Gen. Bragg his positive belief that the 
real attack was threatened upon him, whilst the feint was upon Perryville, 
and urged reinforcements ; and that this was the reason why Gen. Withers' di- 
vision was sent to Gen. Kirby Smith and was not sent to Generals Polk and 
Hardee. 



158 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

Unfortunately the battle of Perryville was another experi- 
ence of Shiloli, without an}' decisive results. Had we have 
had live thousand more men, or had Withers been there, we 
might have completely routed the enemy, leaving us the way 
clear to Louisville. No troops in the world ever fought 
with more desperate courage than ours. Whole regiments of 
our men went into that tight barefooted, fought barefooted, 
and had marched barefooted from Chattanooga. The brunt of 
the battle was borne by Gen. Cheatham's gallant Tennesseeans. 
No soldiers of the Confederacy ever fought with greater 
bravery. 

Ascertaining that the enemy was heavily reinforced during 
the night, Gen. Bragg withdrew his force early the next morn- 
ing to Harrodsburg, where he was joined by Smith and With- 
ers. On the 10th, all our forces fell back to Camp Breckin- 
ridge (Dick Robinson), the cavalry holding the enemy in check 
at Danville. It was supposed that Gen. Bragg would have 
made a stand here, as the place was very defensible and gave 
him the opportunity of sweeping the country and driving off 
by private enterprise or cavalry force vast herds of cattle, so 
much needed by our army. The camp is in an acute angle 
formed by the junction of Kentucky and Dick's rivers, with 
high and impassable and perpendicular cliffs for long distances 
up these rivers, except at a few crossings ; and the upper line 
of the angle has high and commanding hills, suited for ar- 
tillery defences. It was said that it was impregnable to any 
other attack than that of famine. 

But moved by various considerations, and excited by the su- 
periority of Buell's numbers, it was determined by Gen. Bragg 
that the whole army should make its exodus from Kentucky ; 
and in order to secure the immense quantity of captured stores, 
goods, clothing, &c., much of which had also been purchased, 
with some five thousand head of cattle, horses, mules, &c., that 
the retreat should commence on the night of the 12th. On 
that day, Sunday, orders were received to cook four days' ra- 
tions for the march. Major-gen. McCowan, with Gen. Hilliard's 
Legion, and a cavalry force and artillery, was ordered to de- 
fend Fishing Ford, across Dick's river, and commanding the 
road to Camp Breckinridge, in our rear, to the last extremity. 

The distress of those people of Kentucky who were friendly 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 159 

to the South, ou learning that they were to be abandoned bj 
our troops, was the most affecting circumstance of the sad re- 
treat. When our troops abandoned Lexington, the terror, 
dismay, and anguish of the inhabitants were extreme. The 
women ran through the streets crying and wringing their 
hands, while families hastily gathered their clothing, packed 
their trunks, and obtained wagons to depart, the greatest dis- 
tress prevailing. 

The retreat commenced on Sunday night, the 12th October, 
Major Adrain's cavalry conducting the advance train of Gen. 
Kirby Smith. That night piles of goods, clothes, &c., were 
burned that could not be carried off from the warehouse. 
Long before day on the morning of the 13th, the whole camp 
was astir. If any one doubted that we were actually retreat- 
ing, the burning piles of abandoned stores, gun-carriages, &c., 
was sufficient to convince him of the deplorable fact. 

At gray dawn the troops reached Bryantsville, about two 
miles from the camp, where the whole command of conducting 
the retreat was turned over to Gen. Polk. Already train after 
train of wagons had passed, and others were still forming and 
joining in the immense cavalcade. Ammunition trains and 
batteries of captured artillery had preceded. Then followed 
trains of goods, wares, and merchandise, provision trains of 
army stores, trains of captured muskets, escorts of cavalry, 
artillery drawn by oxen. Then came private trains of refugee 
families, flyiug with their negroes for safety — ladies and chil- 
dren in carriages, stage-coaches, express wagons, omnibuses, 
buggies, ambulances, jersey wagons, and every conceivable 
vehicle imaginable, and following, came the wagons of the dif- 
ferent brigades of Gen. Smith's army, with infantry, cavalry, 
and artillery in the rear. Intermixed with the throng were 
thousands of head of cattle, horses, and mules. 

The effect of our retreat along the road everywhere was 
sinking and depressing in the extreme. No miniature banners 
waved, no white kerchiefs greeted our troops with approving 
smiles from lovely women, and no wild cheer was heard re- 
sponsive to the greetings which had attended their march into 
Kentuck3^ Trembling women stole to the doors to look upon 
the strange, mystified scene before them, and as the truth 
gradually forced itself upon them, their eyes filled with tears, 



160 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

and they shrank back, fearing even to make the slightest 
demonstration of friendliness — all was sullen, downcast, and 
gloomy. 

The enemy was in pursuit, and making a strong effort to 
flank us, so as to cut oft* our trains, and it was necessary to 
urge on the teams night and day for fear of capture. For 
some portion of the way the road lay along the bed of Dick's 
river, a miserable rocky branch, which our troops had to cross 
and recross for six miles in a dark and hazy night. Scenes of 
terrible confusion and delay occurred along this road. Wag- 
ons broke down, were overturned, and frequently stalled, and 
in the former case were often abandoned. The bawling of the 
teamsters to their mules, the cracking of their whips, and vol- 
leys of oaths in the most outlandish gibberish, which none but 
the mules could understand, were kept up all night. In the 
daytime more cheerful scenes relieved the retreat. The foli- 
age of the forest trees and brushwood enlivened the wayside 
with their rich hues of dark maroon splendor to brilliant 
crimson. 

The retreat was admirably covered by Gen. Wheeler. From 
the battle-field at Perryville to Cumberland Gap this general 
conducted his movements in the same masterly manner that 
had characterized him in the previous part of the campaign. 
He retarded the enemy by various means. When he reached 
the hilly country he obstructed the road by felled trees. By 
all such ingenious devices, he, with a small force, enabled the 
baggage trains and straggling infantry to escape capture. 
From Altamont to Cumberland Gap -lie encountered the enemy 
twenty-nine times, sei'iously damaged him, and saved much of 
our infantry from capture. At Rock Castle the enemy aban- 
doned the pursuit ; our whole train of stores being up, and 
not even a wagon lost, except those abandoned on account of 
breaking down. 

We must leave here an account of the movements of Gen. 
Bragg until the time shall come for jis to see how his retreat 
from Kentuck}'- through Cumberland Gap transferred the most 
important scenes of the war in the West to the memorable 
lines of Nashville. Deplorable as was this retreat, it was not 
without some circumstances that palliated it, or relieved the 
grief of the public mind. It is certain that it was a disap- 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAE. 161 

pointment to tlie enemy, who had expected to crush our forces 
in Kentucky, and were not prepared for the news of their liber- 
ation from the coils which they flattered themselves had been 
so industriously and elaborately woven around them. 

It is probable, too, that under the circumstances, after our 
own army had blundered so badly in the first steps of the cam- 
paign, its retreat from Kentucky, without the burden of defeat 
and witliout material losses, was preferable to alternatives 
which otherwise would have probably befallen it. It had en- 
tered into Gen. Beauregard's plan of campaign in the West, 
before he had been superseded, to regain the control of the 
Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and thus prepare for future 
operations. The construction of works on the Cumberland 
and Tennessee rivers so as to command them, was plainly an 
important concern ; and, according to Gen. Beauregard's idea, 
should have been preliminary to the active campaign in the 
West. With these works, it appears probable that an advance 
might have been made with safety into Kentucky ; and even 
had we failed in the taking of Louisville and Cincinnati, which 
was a part of Gen. Beauregard's plan, and been compelled to 
fall back, it is thought not improbable that we could have 
made a successful stand on the Cumberland. But Gen. Bragg 
had failed to adopt these suggestions. Had he succeeded, after 
our victory at Perry ville, in driving the enemy back to Louis- 
ville, unless he had been able to take that place, he would have 
been compelled to retreat so soon as the Tennessee and Cum- 
berland rivers should have risen sufficiently to have admitted 
the entrance of the enemy's gunboats and transports. Taking 
this view, it may be said that as we did not have command of 
these rivers, it was fortunate that our army left Kentucky when 
it did, otherwise it might have found great difficulty, after the 
winter rains commenced, in getting away at all. 

For the failure of Gen. Bragg's campaign in Kentucky, the 
excuse was offered that the people of that State had been un- 
friendly, that they had not joined his standard in considerable 
numbers, and that they had disappointed his own and the com- 
mon expectation of the Southern public with respect to their 
political sentiments. It is scarcely necessary to remark how 
little applicable such an excuse is to positive blunders in the 
conduct of an army, and to those imperfections of judgment 

11 



162 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAK. 

and faults of strategy whicli, whatever may be their remote 
connection, are the immediate occasions and responsible causes 
of disaster. 

But it is to be admitted that the South was bitterly disap- 
pointed in the manifestations of public sentiment in Kentucky; 
that the exhibitions of sympathy in this State were meagre and 
sentimental, and amounted to but little practical aid of our 
cause. Indeed, no subject was at once more dispiriting and 
perplexing to the South than the cautious and unmanly recep- 
tion given to our armies, both in Kentucky and Maryland. 
The references we have made to the sentiment of each of these 
States, leaves but little room to doubt the general conclusion, 
that the dread of Yankee vengeance, and love of property, 
were too powerful to make them take risks against these in 
favor of a cause for which their people had a mere preference, 
without any attachment to it higher than those of selfish calcu- 
lation. 

There must, indeed, be some explanation for the extraordi- 
nary quiet of the people of Maryland and Kentucky under the 
tyranny that ruled them, and for that submission the painful 
signs of which we had unwillingly seen. This explanation was 
not to be found in the conduct of the United States. It is a 
remarkable fact that the Lincoln government had not taken 
any pains to change the opinions and prejudices of the people 
in these two States. It had made no attempt to conciliate 
them ; it had performed no act calculated to awaken their 
affection ; it had done nothing to convert their hearts to the 
support of an administration to which they were originally 
hostile. 

It would be a foolish and brutal explanation to attribute the 
submission of these States to cowardice. The people of these 
States were brave ; they were descended from noble ancestries, 
and they had the same blood and types of race that were com- 
mon to the South. The sons of Kentucky and Maryland who 
had fought under the Confederate flag were as noble specimens 
of the Southern soldier as any to be found in our armies. But 
the people of these States, who had stayed at home and been 
schooled in the lessons of submission, appeared to have lost the 
spirit and stature of their ancestors, and dragged the names of 
Maryland and Kentucky in the dust. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 163 

The only just explanation that can be furnished of the abject 
attitude of these States is, that having taken the first steps of 
submission to a pitiless despotism, thej had been easily cor- 
rupted into its subjects. The lessons of history furnish many 
exhibitions of how easily the spirit of a community is crushed 
by submission to tyranny ; how the practice of non-resistance 
makes of men crawling creatures. The mistake is in making 
the first step of submission ; when that is accomplished, de- 
moralization becomes rapid, and the bravest community sinks 
into emasculation. Under the experience of non-resistance to 
the rule of a despot, men become timid, artful, and miserly ; 
they spend their lives in consulting the little ends of personal 
selfishness. This corruption in Kentucky, as well as in Mary- 
land, had gone on with visible steps. Their history was a les- 
son which the South might well remember, of the fatal conse- 
quences of any submission to despotic will ; for however spe- 
cious its plea, all records of man's experience have shown that 
it undermines the virtues of a people, and degenerates at last 
into servile acquiescence in its fate. 



164 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Our Lines in the Southwest. — Gen. Breckenridge's Attack on Baton Kouge.— De- 
struction of the Earn Arkansas. — Gen. Price's Reverse at luka. — Desperate Fighting. — 
The Battle of Cokinth. — Van Dorn's hasty Exultations. — The Massacre of College 
Hill. — Wild and terrible Courage of the Confederates. — Our Forces beaten Back. — 
Our Lines of Retreat secured. — The Military Prospects of the South overshadowed. 
— The Department of the Trans-Mississippi. — Romance of the War in Missouri. — 
Schofield's Order calling out the Militia. — Atrocities of the Yankee Rule in Missouri. 
— Robbery witnout " Red Tape." — The Guerilla Campaign. — The Atfair of Kirks- 
ville. — Execution of Col. McCullough. — The Affair of Lone Jack. — Timely Reinforce- 
ment of Lexington by the Yankees. — The Palmyra Massacre. — The Question of Re- 
taliation with the South. — The Military and Political Situation. — Survey of the 
Military Situation.— Capture of Galveston by the Yankees. — The Enemy's Naval 
Power. — His Iron-clads. — Importance of Foundries in the South. — Prospect in the 
Southwest. — Prospect in Tennessee. — Prospect in Virginia. — Stuart's Raid into Penn- 
sylvania. — Souvenirs of Southern Chivalry. — The "Soft- mannered Rebels." — Political 
Complexion of the War in the North. — Lincoln's " Emancipation Proclamation." — 
History of Yankee Legislation in the War. — Political Error of the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation. — Its Effect on the South. — The Decay of European Sympathy with the 
Abolitionists. — What the War accomplished for Negro Slavery in the South. — Yankee 
Falsehoods and Bravadoes in Europe. — Delusion of Conquering the South by Starva- 
tion. — Caricatures in the New York Pictorials. — The noble Eloquence of Hunger and 
Rags. — Manners in the South. — Yankee Warfare.— The Desolation of Virginia. — The 
Lessons of harsh Necessity. — Improvement of the Civil Administration of the Con- 
federacy.— Ordnance, Manufacturing Eesoarces, Quartermasters' Supplies, etc. 

The crisis in Kentucky was probably hastened by certain 
disastrous events which had taken place on our lines in the 
Southwest. A large Confederate force had been left in North 
Mississippi when Gen. Bragg moved into Kentucky, and the 
speculation was not remote that, with the Memphis and Charles- 
ton railroad open from Chattanooga to a point near the posi- 
tion of our army in Mississippi, that portion of our forces in 
the West might render important assistance to, or, in. some 
emergency, effect a co-operation with the armies that had been 
marched into Kentucky. 

But the story of the Southwest was one of almost unbroken 
disaster, owing less, perhaps, to inadequate numbers than to 
the blind and romantic generalship which carried them into 
the jaws of destruction. There was one golden link in the 
chain of events here, and that was the heroic defence of Vicks- 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 165 

hnrg. But wliile this famous town so nobly disputed the palm 
of the Mississippi, her example of victorious resistance was 
obscured, though not overshadowed, by other events in the 
Southwest. 

On the 5th of August, an attack made by Gen. Breckenridge 
with less than three thousand men on Baton Rouge, was se- 
verely repulsed by an enemy nearly twice his numbers, fight- 
ing behind fortifications which were almost impregnable, and 
assisted by a fleet of gunboats in the river. Tlie unequal attack 
was made by our troops with devoted courage ; they succeeded 
in driving the enemy to the arsenal and tower, and to the 
cover of his gunboats ; but they were compelled to withdraw 
with diminished and exhausted numbers before a fire which it 
was impossible to penetrate. 

This check (for it deserves no more important or decisive 
title) was in a measure occasioned, or, at least, was accompa- 
nied, by a disaster of real importance. This was the destruc- 
tion of the great Confederate ram Arkansas, already famous 
for having run the gauntlet of the hostile fleet at Yicksburg, 
and the promises of whose future services had given to the 
South many brilliant but illusory hopes. The Arkansas left 
Vicksburg to co-operate in the attack upon Baton Rouge. 
After passing Bayou Sara her machinery became deranged or 
disabled. But two alternatives were left — to blow, her up or 
suffer her to be captured by the Yankee gunboats. The for- 
mer was resorted to, and this proud achievement of naval 
architecture floated a wreck on the Mississippi river. 

The failure of another enterprise of attack on the enemy, 
made by Gen. Price at luka on the 20th of September, was 
much more disastrous than the affair of Baton Rouge. Over- 
matched by numbers. Gen. Price was, after some partial and 
temporary success, forced back, with a loss greater than that 
of the enemy. In this engagement our loss was probably eight 
hundred in killed and wounded. But never had troops fought 
with more terrible resolution or wilder enei'gy than the soldiers 
of Price. The fighting was almost hand to hand ; and as an 
instance of the close and deadly combat, it may be mentioned 
that an Ohio battery was taken by our men four different 
times, and as often retaken by greatly superior numbers of the 
enemy. Tlie desperation of our soldiers astonished those who, 



166 THE SECOND TEAE OF THE WAR. 

by the weight of numbers alone, were able to resist them. 
Several of our men endeavored to tear the colors from the 
hands of the Yankees by main force, and either perished in the 
attempt or were made prisoners. In one spot next morning, 
there were counted seventeen Confederate soldiers lying dead 
around one of their officers. Sixteen feet square would cover 
the whole space where they died. 

But there was yet to ensue the great disaster which was to 
react on other theatres of the war and cast the long shadow of 
misfortune upon the country of the West. It was destined to 
take place at Corinth, where Major-gen. Rosecrans, command- 
ing the Yankee army of the Mississippi and Tennessee, was 
stationed with at least forty thousand men. 

THE BATTLE OF CORINTH. 

The armies of Generals Yan Dorn and Price — under Gen. 
Yan Dorn as the ranking officer — having formed a junction at 
Ripley, marched thence for the purpose of engaging the enemy 
in battle, though it was well known that the battle must be 
waged under the serious disadvantages of great disparity in 
numbers and strength of position. 

Oji the 2d of October our forces marched from Pocahontas 
to Chewalla, points on the Memphis and Charleston railroad, 
thus moving from the west on Corinth, the stronghold of the 
enemy. That night the soldiers rested on their arms, in eager 
and confident expectation of meeting the foe in battle array on 
the ensuing morning. 

On Friday, October 3d, the order of battle was formed — the 
right being held by Gen. Yan Dorn's troops, composing only 
one division, under Gen. Lovell ; while the left was occupied 
by Gen. Price's troops, composed of two divisions — the extreme 
left under Gen. Herbert, and the right under Gen. Maury, 
whose division, as thus placed, formed the centre of the whole 
force. Advancing in this order, at half past 7 o'clock in the 
morning Gen. Lovell's division arrived within long range of the 
enemy, who had marched out some miles in front of the extreme 
outer lines of his fortifications. Immediately tlie artillery of 
Gen. Yillipigue, whose brigade was in the advance, opened fire 
upon the enemy, who in a short time began to give way and 



THE SKCOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 167 

fall back, and continued to do so for two hours, under a heavy 
and effective fire from the advancing batteries of Gen. Lovell's 
division. 

At half-past 9 o'clock, the enemy having made a stand one 
half mile in front of his fortifications, Gen. Lovell advanced his 
infantry and poured a destructive musketry fire into the ranks 
of the Yankees, who replied with spirit ; and now, Gen. Price 
having ordered up his divisions under Generals Maury and 
Herbert, the battle raged all along tlie line — the enemy suffer- 
ing terribly. At length a charge was ordered, Gen. Lovell's 
division leading. In double-quick time our soldiers, pressing 
forward with loud cheers, drove the enemy behind his intrench- 
ments. Simultaneously almost, the divisions of Gen. Maury 
and Herbert, the one after the other, charged the enemy in 
front of them with equal siiccess. 

There was now a strange lull in the battle. The Yankees 
had withdrawn entirely behind their fortifications, their fire 
had dropped off, and the tumult of the fierce strife died away. 
The unexpected quiet lasted for a whole hour. By that time, 
the Yankees having brought several field batteries in front, 
opened from these, and at the same time from his heavy artil- 
lery, a most tremendous cannonade. This fire was directed 
chiefly, if not wholly, against the right wing under Gen. Lovell, 
and, though so tremendous in sound, produced but little effect. 
Our soldiers remained silent and stood firm. They were wait- 
ing for orders. Presently the second charge was ordered. 
Gallantly was it made by Gen. Lovell's division, and as gal- 
lantly was it supported by charges all along the centre and 
right wing by the divisions of Generals Maury and Herbert. On, 
on our glorious columns swept through the leaden rain and 
iron hail ; the first line of fortifications is reached and passed ; 
and the Yankees do not stop until they have reached the next 
line of intrenchments. 

Oil Friday night the news of a great victory, was dispatched 
by Gen. Van Dorn to Kichmond. This announcement was 
made with an exultation so hasty and extreme, that it is to be 
supposed that this commander was entirely unaware of the 
strength of the enemy's works at Corinth, and, consequently, 
of the supreme trial which yet remained for the courage and 
devotion of his troops. 



168 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

The next morning the general relation of our troops to each 
other and to the enemy remained as it was on the previous 
day — Gen. Van Dorn, in supreme command, occupying the 
centre, Gen. Price the left wing, and Gen. Lovell the right 
wing. Gen. Lovell's division held ground west of Corinth and 
just south of the Memphis and Charleston railroad. Gen. 
Maury's division was posted north of the Memphis and 
Charleston railroad, and between it and the Memphis and 
Ohio railroad. Gen. Herbert's division was on the left, east 
of the Memphis and Ohio railroad — thus advancing from the 
north upon Corinth. 

The battle was commenced by Gen. Price early in the morn- 
ing, one half-hour before daylight. The artillery having been 
moved forward, opened upon the enemy in his intrenchments 
at a distance of four hndred yards. The enemy replied, and 
a heavy cannonading, by both sides, ensued for one hour. 
Our troops suffered but little damage from this fire, and the 
artillery was withdrawn with the view of advancing the infan- 
try. Now heavy skirmishing followed all along the line, which 
was kept up until about 10 o'clock. Then beginning with 
Gen. Lovell's division, who were immediately seconded by 
Gen. Price's army — Gen. Herbert's division first, and then 
Gen. Maury's, — our whole line advanced upon the intrench- 
ments of the enemy. 

Here occurred one of the most terrible struggles of the war. 
The shock of the tremendous onset was terrible. One portion 
of our lines rushed pell-mell into Corinth, losing in their con- 
fidence of victory almost every semblance of order, infantry 
and cavalry being crowded together in a dense mass, wild 
with excitement, and rending the air with fierce and exulting 
yells. But the batteries of the enemy were situated to com- 
mand the village as well as the approaches to it. 

The serried ranks of the enemy, now prepared to receive 
US, afforded convincing proof that victory was yet distant from 
our grasp, and that a hard and bloody fight was at hand. A 
portion of Maury's division was ordered to charge the formi- 
dable fort on College Hill. This was the forlorn hope. Dis- 
appointed in gaining a lodgment in the village, we must con- 
fess to a defeat, if that battery be not taken. Once in our pos- 
session, the town is ours. The men, massed in single column, 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR, 169 

eight deep, moved forward in silence, regardless of the shower 
of bullets %'lnch whistled about their ears and decimated their 
ranks. The decisive moment — the turning point of the en- 
gagement — had arrived. Every battery of the enemy bearing 
on the column was double charged with grape and canister, 
which burst over the heads of our troops. Scores were killed 
at every discharge, but they moved steadily on, maintaining 
the silence of the grave. As fast as one soldier fell, his com- 
rade behind stepped forward and took his place. They 
charged up to the battery, reserving their fire until they 
reached the parapets. Twice repulsed, the third time they 
reached the outer works, and planted their flag upon the es- 
carpment. It was shot down and again planted, but shot 
down again. 

These devoted troops now held partial possession of the 
works. But the triumph was of short duration. According 
to previous instructions, the enemy's gunners fell back behind 
the works, and the next instant from their batteries threw a 
murderous fire into our ranks at the shortest possible range. 
]S[othing human could withstand such a fire ; the confusion it 
produced was irretrievable ; our men were driven back and 
the day lost. 

But the attack was not abandoned without instances of wild 
and terrible courage that were almost appalling. In their 
madness and desperation, our men would rush up to the very 
mouths of the cannon, and many were blown to pieces by the 
rapid and constant discharges. Such spectacles of courage 
were curious and terrible to behold. An oflicer, standing a 
little way out from his men, was shouting, " Give it to the 
scoundrels." The words had but passed from his lips, when 
the first shell from a Parrott gun struck his left shoulder, tear- 
ing off his whole side. He turned his head a little to one side, 
his mouth opened, his eyes glared, and he fell dead. 

The attack on the enemy's batteries was rash and magnifi- 
cent. The intensity of the fight may be judged from the fact 
that two hundred and sixty dead bodies were found in and 
about the trenches, within a distance of fifty feet of the works. 
It is impossible to enumerate the examples of daring which 
adorn the story of this attack. The Second Texas Infantry, 
under Col. Rogers, led the charge, and the colonel himself fell 



170 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

on the enemy's breastworks, with the colors of his regiment in 
his hand. A piece of paper was found under his clothing, 
giving his name and rank and the address of his friends. As 
Gen, Cabell mounted the enemy's parapet, the first man he 
encountered was a Yankee colonel, who cried out, " Kill that 
d d rebel oflScer." The next instant a blow from the gen- 
eral's sabre placed his antagonist at his feet. In the brigade 
of this brave officer, J. H. Bullock, adjutant of the 13th Ar- 
kansas regiment, a noble specimen of the Southern soldier — 
for, thongh blessed in estate and family, a son-in-law of Chief- 
justice Parsons, of North Carolina, and the master of a beauti- 
ful and prosperous home, he had volunteered as a private and 
been advanced for merit — made a display of courage to ani- 
mate his men that was a splendid picture of heroism, as he 
stood out and exposed himself to the enemy's fire until his 
clothing was pierced by balls, his life being saved only by that 
unseen shield with which Providence protects its agents. The 
gallant commander of this ever-glorious regiment. Col. Duly, 
had fallen, while himself engaged in the animation of his men — 
cheering and leading them on to the attack. 

Under the necessities of the case, our troops had fallen 
back ; and though in doing so they were exposed to a terrible 
and destructive fire, there was no panic, no rout — the wounded, 
except those who fell right at the intrenchments, having been 
nearly all brought aw^ay. Our army retired to the woods at a 
distance of only six hundred yards, and there, while our artil- 
lery resumed fire and kept it up for a short time, formed again 
in order of battle. But the enemy appearing indisposed to 
renew the conflict. Gen. Van Dorn, at three o'clock, drew ofif 
his whole force, being most ably supported in doing so by Gen. 
Price and the other general officers. 

The next morning, at half past eight o'clock, our advance, 
consisting of Gen. Phifer's brigade, and Col. Whitfield's Le- 
gion, with one battery — not exceeding one thousand five hun- 
dred in all — crossed the Davis bridge at Hatchie river, to 
engage the enemy, a large body of whom, from Bolivar, had 
theday before reached that point, and had there been held in 
check by Col. Slemmon's and Adams' cavalry, with one bat- 
tery. Our advance having crossed the bridge and gone a little 
distance, received a heavy fire at short range from a concealed 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. lYl 

battery, which was followed directly by a charge from a largely 
superior force. Our troops retreated in a good deal of confu- 
sion across the bridge — having suffered a loss, perhaps, of three 
hundred killed, wounded, and missing. The reinforcements 
arriving, our troops formed in line, and a fight with musketry 
ensued and was kept up for some time across the river, but 
with very little loss on our side. Meanwhile, our field-pieces 
opened upon the enemy — and they replying, cannonading was 
continued during the greater part of the day. During this 
time our advance was gradually withdrawn, and following the 
other troops, with the long wagon train of supplies, wounded, 
&c. — the artillery having also been brought off — made a suc- 
cessful crossing of Hatchie river, some miles higher up the 
stream. The retreat was eventually halted at a point a little 
north of Ripley. 

Our loss in all the three days' engagements was probably 
quite double that of the enemy. In killed and wounded it ex- 
ceeded three thousand ; and it was estimated, besides, that we 
had left more than fifteen hundred prisoners in the hands of 
the enemy. 

The defeat of Corinth was followed by swift news of disaster 
and discouragement. The military prospect was not dark, but 
it had lost much of the brightness it had only a few weeks 
before. Kentucky had been gloomily abandoned. In Yir- 
ginia the hopes of conquering a peace on the Potomac had for 
the time been given up ; the Kanawha Valley had again been 
mostly surrendered to the enemy ; and Marshall's forces, back 
again in Southwestern Virginia, were consuming the sub- 
stance of the country with but little return of other service. 
In other parts of the Confederacy, the prospect was not much 
relieved. 

THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI. 

The events in the department of the Trans-Mississippi were 
too distant to affect the general fortunes of the war ; they were 
but episodes to the great drama of arms that passed over the 
broad and imposing theatres of Virginia, Kentucky, and Ten- 
nessee; but they were replete with romance, and if their inter- 
est is at present partial, it is so, perhaps, for the reason that 
they are imperfectly known. 



172 THE SECOND YEAK OF TUE WAR, 

Missouri had the better of other seats of hostility for the real 
romance of war. The remote geography of the country, the 
rough character of the people, the intensity and ferocity of the 
passions excited, and the reduction of military operations to a 
warfare essentially partisan and frontier, gave to the progress 
of the war in this quarter a wild aspect, and illustrated it with 
rare and thrilling scenes. 

Gen. Schofield, the Yankee commander, who had been left 
by Halleck with the brief and comprehensive instructions " to 
take care of Missouri," found the power of the Confederates 
broken in nearly three-fourths of that State, but the South- 
western portion threatened by the active movements of Gen. 
Hindman, in command of State forces raised in Arkansas and 
Texas. But in no part of Missouri was the spirit of the people 
broken. Guerrilla bands made their aj)pearance in all parts 
of the State; and their numbers rapidly augmented under the 
despotic edict of Schofield, calling out the militia of the State 
to mui'der their own countrymen. 

The dark atrocities of the Yankee rule in Missouri, enacted 
as they were in a remote country, and to a great extent re- 
moved from observation, surpassed all that was known in 
other parts of the Confederacy of the cruelty and fury of the 
enemy. The developments on this subject are yet imperfect ; 
but some general facts are known of the inordinate license of 
the enemy in Missouri, while others of equal horror have es- 
caped the notice of the public. 

In other parts of the Confederacy many of the excesses of 
the enemy were performed under certain formalities, and to 
some extent regulated by them. But in Missouri there was no 
" red tape," no qualification of forms ; the order of the day 
was open robbery, downright murder, and freedom to all crimes 
of which " rebels" were the victims. Citizens were plundered 
with barefaced audacity. Those citizens of St. Louis county 
alone, who were suspected by Gen. Schofield to sympathize 
with the South, were taxed five hundred thousand dollars to 
arm, clothe, and subsist those who were spilling the blood of 
their brothers, and threatening their own homes with the torch 
and with outrages to which death is preferable. 

The sanguinary guerrilla warfare in Missouri may be said to 
have commenced in the month of July, by the assembling of 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 173 

bands under Porter, Poindexter, Cobb, and others. The prin- 
cipal theatre of guerrilla operations was at this time the north- 
eastern division of Missouri, where the almost devilish cruelties 
of the Yankee commander, the notorious Colonel McNeil, had 
lashed the people into incontroUable fury. 

On the 6th of August, Porter's band was attacked at Kirks- 
ville by McNeil with a large force of cavalry and six pieces of 
artillery. This gallant partisan made a resistance of four 
hours against overwhelming numbers, and retired only after 
such a demonstration of valor, leaving the Yankees to claim 
as a victory an atfair in which they had sustained a loss of 
more than five hundred in killed and wounded, probably double 
our own. 

The day after the action, a party of Yankee scouts suc- 
ceeded in capturing, near Edina, Col. F. McCullough, who was 
attached, to Porter's command, and at the time of his capture 
was quite alone. The next morning a train with an armed 
escort proceeded from Edina to Earksville. McCullough was 
sent along. On arriving at Kirksville, the news of the capture 
of this famous partisan excited the most devilish feeling among 
the Yankee troops. He was confined a brief time with the 
prisoners. Meantime a court-martial was held, and he was 
sentenced to be shot that very afternoon. He received the 
information of his fate with perfect composure, but protested 
against it. Leaning against the fence, he wrote a few lines to 
his wife. These, with his watch, he delivered to the officer, to 
be given to her. Upon the way to his execution, he requested 
the privilege to give the command to fire, which was granted. 
All being ready, he said : "What I liave done, I have done as 
a principle of right. Aim at the heart. Fire!" 

The command taking the soldiers by surprise, one fired 
sooner than the rest. The ball entering his breast, he fell, 
while the other shots passed over him. Falling with one leg 
doubled under the body, he requested to have it straightened 
out. While this was being done he said : " I forgive you for 
this barbarous act." The squad having reloaded their pieces, 
another volley was fired — this time into his body, and he died. 

On the 15th of August occurred the more important action 
of Lone Jack. Large Yankee forces were moved from Lex- 
ington, with orders to efi"ect a junction near Lone Jack and 



174 



THE SECO'yfD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



attack the forces under Hughes and Quantrell, supposed to be 
somewhere in Jackson county. The disaster which met the 
Yankees here was the most serious of the guerrilla campaign. 
Their command was defeated, with a loss of three hundred 
killed and wounded, two pieces of their artillery captured on 
the field, their routed forces turned back upon Lexington, and 
that place put in imminent peril. The timely reinforcement of 
Lexington by all the available forces of the enemy in north- 
eastern Missouri alone saved the place from capture by the 
Confederates, and disconcerted their plans of relieving their 
comrades north of the river. 

The guerrilla campaign of Missouri is made memorable by the 
fearful story of the " Palmyra massacre." The important 
incidents of this tragedy are gathered from the enemy's own 
publications, and it was from Yankee newspapers that the peo- 
ple of the South first learned the barbarous and exultant news 
that McNeil had executed ten Confederate prisoners because a 
tory and spy had been carried ofi" a captive by our forces. 

From the enemy's own accounts, it appears that the missing 
man, Andrew Allsman, was a legitimate prisoner of war ; that 
on the descent of the Confederate forces upon Palmyra he 
was captured by them ; that he belonged to the Federal 
cavalry, but that being too old to endure all the hardships of 
active duty, he was detailed as a spy, being " frequently," as 
one of the Yankee papers states, " called upon for information 
touching the loyalty of men, which he always gave to the ex- 
tent of his ability." 

When McNeil returned to Palmyra in October, he caused a 
notice to be issued that unless Allsman was returned in ten 
days he would shoot ten Confederate prisoners as " a meet 
reward for their crimes, among which was the illegal restrain- 
ing of said Allsman of his liberty." The ten days elapsed, 
and the prisoner was not returned. The following account of 
what ensued, is condensed from the Palmyra Courier, a 
" Union" journal, without any variation from the language in 
which it describes the deed of the demons with whom it was in 
sympathy : 

"The tenth day expired with last Friday. On that day ten 
rebel prisoners, already in custody, were selected to pay with 
their lives the penalty demanded. A little after 11 o'clock, 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR, 175 

A. M., the next day, three government wagons drove to the jail. 
One contained four, and each of the others three rough board 
coffins. The condemned men were conducted from the prison 
and seated in the wagons, one upon each coffin. A sufficient 
guard of soldiers accompanied them, and tlie cavalcade started 
for the fatal grounds. The ten coffins were removed from the 
wagons and placed in a row, six or eight feet apart, forming a 
line north and south. Each coffin was placed upon the ground 
with its foot west and head east. Thirty soldiers of the 2d M. 
S. M. were drawn up in a single line, extending north and 
south, facing the row of coffins. The arrangements completed, 
the men knelt upon the grass between their coffins and the 
soldiers. At the conclusion of a prayer by the army chaplain, 
each prisoner took his seat upon the foot of his coffin, facing 
the muskets which in a few moments were to launch them into 
eternity. They were nearly all firm and undaunted. The most 
noted of the ten was Captain Thomas A. Sidner of Monroe 
county, whose capture at Shelbyville, in the disguise of a 
woman, we related several weeks since. He was now elegantly 
attired in a suit of black broadcloth, with a white vest. A 
luxurious growth of beautiful hair rolled down upon his 
shoulders, which, with his fine personal appearance, could not 
but bring to mind the handsome but vicious Absalom. There 
was nothing especially worthy of note in the appearance of 
the others. A few moments after 1 o'clock the chaplain in 
attendance shook hands with the prisoners. Two of them ac- 
cepted bandages for the eyes, the rest refused. A hundred 
spectators had gathered around the amphitheatre to witness the 
impressive scene. The stillness of death pervaded the place. 
The officer in command now stepped forward, and gave the 
word of command — ' Ready ! aim ! fire !' The discharges, how- 
ever, were not made simultaneously — probably through want 
of a perfect understanding of the orders to fire. Two of the 
rebels fell backwards upon their coffins and died instantly. 
Capt. Sidner sprang forward and fell with his head towards the 
soldiers, his face upwards, his hands clasped upon his breast, 
and the left leg drawn half way up. He did not move again, 
but died immediately. He had requested the soldiers to aim 
at his heart, and they obeyed but too implicitly. The other 



176 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

seven were not killed outright ; so the reserves M'ere called in, 
who dispatched thein with their revolvers." 

The "Palmyra massacre " was destined to a long and painful 
remembrance by the people of the South, n9t only because of 
its tragic interest, but because it was a comment scrawled in 
blood on that weak and remiss policy of our government, which 
had so long submitted to the barbarous warfare of the enemy 
and hesitated at the rule of retaliation. 

THE MILITARY AND POLITICAL SITUATION. 

A slight survey of the military situation at this time adds 
something to the list of our disasters, and is necessary to un- 
derstand the proportions of the crisis at which the fortunes of 
the South had arrived. 

The capture of Galveston on the coast of Texas, on the 9th 
of October, was another repetition of the almost invariable 
story of disaster at the hands of the enemy's naval power. It 
was made almost without resistance. In the early part of the 
war, the defenceless condition of Galveston had been repre- 
sented to the government, as in fact there was no ordnance 
available there but a lot of old cannon captured from the 
United States. These representations in the letters and peti- 
tions of the people of Galveston were made without effect, 
until at last, some time in the summer of 1861, a deputation 
of citizens waited upon the authorities at Richmond, begging 
piteously a few cannon to defend them from the enemy. The 
whole extent of the response of the government to this and 
other appeals was to send to Galveston eleven or thirteen guns, 
two of which were rifled ; and transportation for these was 
only given to New Orleans, whence they had to be dragged 
over piney hills and through swamps to their destination. The 
consequence was, that the enemy had made an easy prize of 
one of our principal seaports: when, after threatening it for 
eighteen months, he at last found it practically defenceless. 

The fall of Galveston again turned the perplexed attention 
of the people of the South to the enormous and rapid increase 
of the enemy's naval power in this war as one. of its most pain- 
ful subjects of interest. This arm had grown to such size as 
to threaten us in many respects more seriously than the ene- 



THE SECOND YEAE OF THE WAK. 177 

my's land forces. It was calculated that, with the completion 
of their vast number of naval structures already on the stocks, 
the Yankees would have 388 vessels, mounting 3,072 guns — 
nearly nine guns to the vessel. Of these, thirty were iron- 
clad, mounting ninety of the heaviest guns in the world, each 
weighing 42,240 pounds, and throwing a solid shot, fifteen 
inches in diameter, weighing 480 pounds. 

It is not wonderful that in view of these vast preparations 
in the North, the people of the South should have watched 
with intense interest the long lines of their sea-coast, and been 
on the tiptoe of expectation for the fleets of the Yankees, 
which were to sweep upon them in numbers and power yet un- 
equalled by any naval demonstration of the enemy in this war. 
It was easy to see that the South would have to look to its 
foundries to set-off the naval power of the enemy. "When we 
could match their naval armaments with our batteries on shore, 
we might expect to hold our sea-coast against their fleets. The 
authorities at Richmond were instructed that there was but one 
way of replying to the Yankee iron-clads on equal terms ; 
and that was by iron-clad batteries, with powerful guns in 
them, and with the use of steel-pointed or wrought-irou pro- 
jectiles. 

In the Southwest, the strong tenure which we maintained 
of Yicksburg was a stumbling-block to the Yankee schemes for 
the conquest of Mississippi. The fate of that State was also 
confidently intrusted to the brave troops under the command 
of Gen. Pemberton, who was assisted by Yan Dorn and Price 
and an increasing army. 

But it was to Tennessee that the minds of the intelligent 
were turned to look for the earliest and severest conflict of the 
campaign in the West. The enemy already held the western 
portion of the State and a part of the middle, and evidently 
desired to obtain possession of the eastern portion. He was 
reported to be coming down from Kentucky for the purpose, 
in heavy columns, under Gen. Rosecrans, by way of Nash- 
ville ; and there was reason to suppose that he would endeavor 
to make a flank movement on Knoxville, and, at the same 
time, capture Chattanooga, as the key of North Alabama and 
Georgia. 

In Yirginia a lull had followed the famous summer campaign, 

13 



178 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

and our army in the northern part of the State quietly re- 
cruited, and was daily improving in organization and numbers. 
The only incident that had broken the monotony of our camps 
was the renewal in the North of the phantom of " invasion by 
the rebels" by a raid into Pennsylvania, accomplished by the 
rapid and brilliant commander of our cavalry, Gen. J. E. B. 
Stuart, with about two thousand men. The expedition pene- 
trated to Chambersburg, which was occupied for a short time 
by our troops on the 10th of October. It met with no resist- 
ance, accumulated no stores, and accomplished nothing beyond 
the results of a reconnoissance, and the wonder of one of the 
most rapid marches on record. 

This expedition left to the Yankees a remarkable souvenir 
of Southern chivalry. Private property was uniformly re- 
spected by our troops ; Yankee civilians were treated with 
scrupulous regard ; and many kindnesses were shown the 
alarmed people in a knightly style, which would have been 
creditable to us had it not been made ridiculous by excess of 
courtesy and a tender and ceremonious politeness which was 
in very absurd contrast to the manners of our enemy. (3n en- 
tering Chambersburg, " the soft-mannered rebels," as Col. 
McClure, the Yankee commander of the post, described them, 
treated him with the most tender politeness. Indeed, the nar- 
rative of this officer's experience furnishes a curious leaf in 
the history of the war. To the great amusement of the peo- 
ple of the North, Col. McClure gave a long account in the 
newspapers of the strained chivalry of our troops. He re- , 
lated how they had " thanked him for being candid," when he 
told them that he was a Republican ; how he was politely asked 
for food by the officers ; and how a private in Stuart's terrible 
command had, " with a profound bow, asked for a few coals to 
light a fire." 

The story of these courtesies and salaams to our enemy is 
not one for our amusement. It affords an instructive illustra- 
tion that is valuable in history, of the over-amiable disposition 
and simple mind of the South ; and it places in stark and hor- 
rible contrast an agreeable picture with that of the devilish 
atrocities and wanton and mocking destruction of the Yankee 
armies on the soil of the Confederacy. 

While the war lagged, we are called upon to notice new 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 179 

sources of resolution and power in the South, which were per- 
haps more vahiable than victories in the field. In this depart- 
ment of interest, which is quite equal to that of battles and 
sieges, it will be necessary to pass in review some political 
acts of the rival governments, and some events of moral import- 
ance. 

At last the Abolitionists of the North had had their wild 
and wicked will. On the 2 2d day of September, President 
Lincoln issued his celebrated proclamation of " emancipa- 
tion"* of the slaves of the South, to take effect after the 1st of 
next January, thus unmasking the objects of the war, and ex- 
hibiting to the world the sublime of administrative madness. 

* The following is a copy of this remarkable document : 

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES — A PROCLAMATION. 

Washington, Sept. 23, 1863. 

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, and Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the army and na\'7 thereof, do hereby proclaim and de- 
clare, that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of 
practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and 
tlie people thereof, in which States that relation is, or may be, suspended or 
disturbed ; that it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again 
recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the 
free acceptance or rejection of all the slave States, so called, the people whereof 
may not then be in rebellion against the United States, and which States may 
then have volimtarily adopted or thereafter may voluntarily adopt the imme- 
diate or gradual abolishment of slavery within their respective limits ; and that 
the efforts to colonize persons of African descent, with their consent, upon the 
continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the govern- 
ments existing there, will be continued ; that on the 1st day of January, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held 
as slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people where- 
of shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be thenceforward 
and forever free ; and the executive government of the United States, includ- 
ing the naval and military authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the 
freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or 
any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom ; that the 
Executive wiU, on the 1st day of January, aforesaid, by proclamation, designate 
the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof respectively 
shall then be in rebellion against the United States ; and the fact that any 
State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in 
tlie Congress of^the United States by members chosen thereto at elections 
wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, 
shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive 
evidence that such State and the people thereof have not been in rebellion 
against the United States. 



180 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

Since the commencement of tlie war, the Abolitionists had 
gradually compassed their ends at Washington, or rather the 
real objects and inherent spirit of the war had been gradually 
developed.- They had legislated slavery forever out of the 
Territories; they had abolislied it in the District of Columbia; 
they had passed laws confiscating the property of "rebels" 
and emancipating their slaves, and declaring all fugitive slaves 
free within their military lines ; they had made it a crime on 
the part of their militar}'^ officers to restore or aid in restoring 
any fugitive slave to his master ; and finally, they had pro- 
cured from President Lincoln a proclamation declaring all the 
slaves in the Confederate States, beyond the lines of their land 
and naval forces, " henceforward and forever free." 

This infamous proclamation, while regarded by the South as 
a fulmination of exasperated passion, was in the North a source 
of weakness and division. It divided the North and strength- 
ened the enemies of Mr. Lincoln's administration without cre- 
ating any enthusiasm among its friends. The few in the North 
who still had some regard for the written constitution under 
which they lived, contended that the President could not pro- 
claim emancipation except under the pressure of military ne- 
cessity, and what sort of a military necessity, it was asked, was 
that which admitted of a delay of a hundred days. 'WiQfulmen 
irutum issued to appease the anti-slavery party proved a fire- 
brand at home. Many, even of this party, were dissatisfied, 
and decried the proclamation because of its tardiness. "There 
was a time," said the New York Tribune^ "when even this bit 
of paper could have brought the negro to our side ; but now 
slavery, the real rebel capital, has been surrounded by a Chick- 



And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the military 
and naval service of the United States to observe, obey, and enforce ■within 
their respective spheres of service the act and sections above recited. 

And the Executive vriU in due time recommend that aU citizens of the 
United States, who shall have remained loyal thereto throughout the rebellion, 
shall (upon the restoration of ther constitutional relation between the United 
States and their respective States and people, if the relation shall have been 
suspended or disturbed) be compensated for all losses by acts of the United 
States, including the loss of slaves. 

In vidtness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the 
United States to be affixed. 

Abraham Lincoln. < 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR.^ 181 

ahominy swamp of blunders and outrages against that' race 
■which no paper spade can dig through." 

To the South the fuhnination of Lincoln was a crowning: 
proof of the true principles of the party that had elevated him 
to the Presidency, and that on its accession to power had made 
perfidious use of the most solemn pledges.* It was a public 
confession of the fact that conquest, extermination, and eman- 
cipation were the real objects of the war — a fact which the 
enemy for a while had aflfected to deny. It attempted to ac- 
complish by the horrors of servile insurrection what our enemy 
had failed to accomplish by military operations. It confessed 
to the world his inability and failure to accomplish his pur- 

* One of the most singular juxtapositions between the professions of the 
North at the commencement of hostilities and its present ideas, is aflTorded in 
Mr. Seward's famous letter, written to the French government on the 22d April, 
1861, and his subsequent circular to the Yankee ministers in Europe. It is 
one of the most singular of all the juggleries and summersaults of Yankee 
diplomacy. . 

In the first pronunciamento of Secretary Seward, written " by the direction 
of the President," occurs the following passage: 

" The condition of slavery in the several States will remain just the same, 
whether it succeeds or fails. The rights of the States, and the condition of 
every human being in them, wiU remain subject to exactly the same laws and 
form of administration, whether the revolution shall succeed or whether it 
shall fail. Their constitutions, and laws, and customs, habits, and institutions, 
in either case will remain the same. It is hardly necessary to add to this 
incontestable statement, the further fact that the new President, as weU as the 
citizens tlirough whose suffrages he has come into the administration, has 
always repudiated aU designs whatever, and wherever imputed to him and 
them, of disturbing the system of slavery as it is existing under the constitution 
and laws. The case, however, would not be fully presented were I to omit to 
say that any such effort on his part would be unconstitutional, and all his acts 
in that direction would be prevented by the judicial authority, even though 
they were assented to by Congress and the people." 

Within eighteen months after Seward declares oflBciaUy to one of the minis- 
ters of the government that the President has no wish and no right to inter- 
fere with the institutions of the "rebellious" States, he writes another letter, 
also directed to the ministers abroad, annoxmcing the adoption of a poMcy 
which, if it could be carried out, would make a complete revolution in the 
social organization of the South. Utterly regardless of his former position and 
declaration, he imdertakes to justify the "emancipation" proclamation of the 
Yankee President. But this is not all. What shall we say of the effrontery 
of the lie, when Seward asserts that the abolition proclamation is not only a 
just and proper act, but avows his belief that the world vdU recognize "the 
moderation and magnanimity with which the government proceeds in a matter 
so solemn and important !" 



182 ^HE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

poses by regular and honorable hostilities. It was, in short, 
the diabolical attempt of an infatuated ruler, unworthy of 
authority, in a lit of disappointed malice, to inflict the worst 
horrors known to human nature upon eight millions of people 
who had wisely rejected his authority. 

The " emancipation" proclamation not only strengthened 
the South and nerved her to greater exertions in the war, but 
it fortunately gave occasion to the world for a more interested 
observation and closer study of the peculiar institution of the 
Confederacy. The sympathies of Europe with the anti-slavery 
party in America were depressed by the conduct of that party, 
its exhibitions of ferocity, and by the new manifestations which 
the war had made of tlje nature and moral condition of negro 
slavery in the South. 

Indeed, the war had shown the system of slavery in the 
South to the world in some new and striking aspects, and had 
removed much of that cloud of prejudice, defamation, false- 
hood, romance, and perverse sentimentalism through which our 
peculiar institution had been formerly known to Europe. It 
had given a better vindication of our system of slavery than 
all the books that could be written in a generation. It had 
shown that slavery was an element of strength with us ; tliat 
it had assisted us in our struggle ; that no servile insurrections 
had taken place in the South, in spite of the allurements of our 
enemy ; that the slave had tilled the soil while his master had 
fought; that in large districts unprotected by our troops, and 
with a white population consisting almost exclusively of women 
and children, the slave had continued at his work quiet, cheer- 
ful, and faithful ; and that, as a conservative element in our 
social system, the institution of slavery had withstood the 
shocks of war, and been a faithful ally of our arms, although 
instigated to revolution by every art of the enemy, and 
prompted to the work of assassination and pillage by the most 
brutal examples of the Yankee soldiery.* 

* The missionary settlements of the Yankees on the coast of South Caro- 
lina -were an acknowledged failure, so far as the proposed education and exalta- 
tion of the blacks were concerned. The appearance of the ancient town of 
Beaufort, since it had fallen into the enemy's ])ossession, indicated the peculiari- 
ties of Yankee rule, and afforded an interesting exhibition of their relations 
■with the negro. The inhabitants had taken nothing away with them but their 




F_ N 



THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 183 

Since the commencement of the war the North had had 
ahnost exclusive access to the ear of the world, and had poured 
into it whatever of slander or of misrepresentation human in- 
genuity could suggest. This circumstance, which was at first 
thought to be a great disadvantage to us, had not only proved 
a harmless annoyance, but had resulted in invaluable benefit. 
It had secured sympathy for us ; it had excited the inquiries of 
the intelligent, who, after all, give the law to public opinion ; 
and it had naturally tempted the North to such lying and 
bravado as to disgust the world. 

At the beginning of the war the North had assured the 
world that the people of the South were a sensual and bar- 
barous people, demoralized by their institution of slavery, and 
depraved by self-will and licentiousness below the capacity for 
administrative government. The best reply to these slanders, 
was our conduct in this war. Even the little that was known 
in Europe of the patriotic devotion, the dignity and cultivated 
humanity of the people of the South, as shown in the war, had 
been sufficient to win unbounded encomiums for them. We 
had not only withstood for nearly two years a power which had 
put thirteen hundred thousand men in the field ; but we had 



personal property and their valuable domestic slave servants. The furniture 
was left untouched in the houses. These houses were owned by the Barn wells, 
the Rhetts, the Cuthberts, the Phillipses, and other distinguished families of 
North Carolina. The elegant furniture, the libraries, the works of art, had 
nearly all disappeared. They had been sent North from time to time by Yankee 
officers, and many of these officers of high rank. Tlie elegant dwelling-houses 
had been converted into barracks, negro quarters, hospitals, and storehouses. 
The best houses had been put in complete order, and were occupied by the 
officers of the department and the abolitionist missionaries from Boston and 
elsewhere. The eflbrts of these missionaries to teach the negroes their letters 
and habits of cleanliness met with no success. Beaufort was full of negroes, 
well clothed, at government expense, fat, saucy, and lazy. The town looked 
dirty and disorderly, and had the appearance of a second-class Mexican village. 
Some of the missionaries had been elevated to the position of planters, and 
occupied the estates of the old Carolinians. The labor on these estates was 
performed by contraband negroes. These abolition lords assumed all the 
hauteur and dignity of the Southern planter. The only difference to the black 
laborer was that he had the name of freeman ; his labor was as unrelenting as 
ever. Massachusetts missionaries and Massachusetts speculators enjoyed the 
larger share of government patronage here. The department of Hunter ap- 
peared to be experimenting in attempts to elevate a negro to equality with the 
white man. Military operations were secondary considerations. 



184 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

shown that we were a people able in public affairs, resolute, 
brave, and prudent. 

Another characteristic Yankee misrepresentation, made to 
the world about this time on the subject of the war, was, that 
it was to be concluded at an early day by the force of destitu- 
tion and sufferiuf^ in the South. The delusion of conquering 
the " rebels " by famine easily caught the vulgar ear. The 
North made it a point to exaggerate and garble every thing it 
could find in Southern newspapers, of the ragged condition of 
our armies, the high prices of the necessaries of life, and the 
hardships of the war. The Yankees were pleasantly entertained 
with stories of our suffering. Their pictorials were adorned 
with caricatures of " secesh " in skeleton soldiers and gaunt 
cavalrymen with sj)urs strapped to their naked heels. Tlieir 
perfumed fops and dainty ladies had the fashion of tittering at 
the rags of our prisoners. They had an overwhelming sense 
of the ludicrous in the idea of Southern women cutting up the 
carpets in their houses to serve for blankets and garments for 
the soldiers. 

The fact was that our sufferings were great ; but their mute 
eloquence, which the enemy misinterpreted as a prospect of 
craven submission, was truly the sign of self-devotion. What- 
ever was suffered in physical destitution was not to be regret- 
ted. It practised our people in self-denial ; it purified their 
spirit ; it brought out troops of virtues ; it ennobled our wo- 
men with offices of charity ; it gave us new bonds of sympathy 
and love, and it trained us in those qualities which make a 
nation great and truly independent. 

In the whirl of passing events, many strange things were 
daily happening around us that at a remoter period of history 
will read like romance. The directions of our industry were 
changed. Planters raised corn and potatoes^ fattened hogs and 
cultivated garden vegetables, while cotton was by universal 
consent neglected. Our newspapers were of all sizes and 
colors, sometimes containing four pages, sometimes two, and 
not a few were printed on common brown wrapping paper. 
Politics were dead. A political enemy was a curiosity only 
read of in the records of the past. Our anmsements had been 
revolutionized. Outside of Kichmond, a theatre was remem- 
bered only as an institution of by-gone times. Most of our 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 185 

people did their own playing and their own singing ; and the 
ladies spent the mornings in sewing coarse shirts or pantaloons 
for the soldiers to wear, and sung in public at night to gain 
money for the soldiers' equipments. 

The footprints of the enemy, in Yirginia especially, had 
marked lines of desolation such as history seldom records. 
Starting fi'om Fortress Monroe and running westward to Win- 
chester, scarcely a house within fifty miles of the Potomac but 
bore evidence of Yankee greed and spoliation. In nearly 
every county the court-house in which the assizes for each 
county used to be held, was rudely demolished, doors and win- 
dows torn down ; while within, upon the white walls in every 
phase of handwriting, were recorded the autographs of the 
vandals, whose handiwork surrounded the beholder. 

While the people of the South sufiered, the resources of the 
country were developed by harsh necessity ; and about the pe- 
riod M^here our narrative reaches, we are called upon to notice 
that happy change in the administration of our government, in 
which short-sighted expectations of peace were replaced by 
the policy of provision and an amassment of stores for a war 
of indefinite duration. Measures were adopted to afford ade- 
quate supplies of ordnance, arms, and munitions for the army. 
Of small-arms the supply was more adequate to the regiments 
of the army than at any other time. They had increased from 
importation and capture not less than eighty thousand. Es- 
tablishments for making ordnance were founded in different 
parts of the South ; a nitre corps was organized for service ; 
and former dread of deficiency of the munitions of war no 
longer existed. The manufacturing resources of the country, 
especially in iron, were liberally patronized by the government, 
by large advances and liberal contracts ; but in this the public 
service met great embarrassment from the temptations con- 
stantly offered to contractors to prefer the superior profits 
which they could command by supplying the general market. 
The quartermaster's department was under the direction of 
Gen. Myers, of South Carolina, whose contributions to the cause 
of the South, in the zeal and ability which he brought into his 
important ofiice, must take a high rank in all the histories of 
the war. He contended against the great obstacles of the 
blockade, the difliculties of railroad transportation, and the 



186 THE SKCOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 

constant losses in the enemy's ravages of the country, and per- 
formed wonders under the most unfavorable circumstances. 
Woollens and leather were imported from Europe through 
trains of difficulties ; the most devoted exertions were made to 
replenish tlie scant supplies of blankets and shoes in the array ; 
and by using to the utmost our internal resources, by the es- 
tablishment of factories and the organization of workshops ; 
and by greater economy in the use of our supplies, tlie suffer- 
ings of our soldiers were alleviated and their zeal refreshed for 
the campaign. 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE "WAR. 187 



CHAPTER YII. 

The Heroism of Virginia. — Her Battle-fields.— Burnside's Plan of Campaign. — 
Calculations of his Movement upon Fredericksburg. — Failure to surprise Gen. Lee. — 
The Battle of Fhederioksburo. — The Enemy crossing the Kiver. — Their Bombard- 
ment of the Town. — Scenes of Distress. — The Battle on the Right Wing. — TheStory 
of Marye's Heights. — Repulse of the Enemy. — The old Lesson of barren Victory. — 
Death of Gen. Cobb. — Death of Gen. Gregg. — Romance of the Story of Fredericks- 
burg. — Her noble Women. — Yankee Sacking of the Town. — A Specimen of Yankee 
Warfare in North Carolina. — Designs of the Enemy in this State. — The Engagements 
of Kinston. — Glance at other Theatres of the War. — Gen. Hindman's Victory at Prai- 
rie Grove. — Achievements of our Cavalry in the West. — The Atfair of Hartsville.— Col. 
Clarkson's Expedition. — Condition of Events at the Close of the Year 1862. 

Virginia had borne the brunt of the .war. l!^earlj two- 
thirds of her territory had been overrun by the enemy, and 
her richest fields had been drenched with blood or marked by 
the scars of the invader. The patriotic spirit and the chival- 
rous endurance of this ancient and admirable commonwealth 
had not only supported these losses and afflictions without a 
murmur, but these experiences of the war were the sources of 
new inspiration, and the occasions of renewed I'esolution and 
the reinforcement of courage by the sentiment of devotion. 
When we add to the consideration of the grand spirit of this 
State the circumstances that the flower of the Confederate 
army' was naturally collected on this the most critical theatre 
of the war, and that the operations in Virginia were assisted 
by the immediate presence of the government, we shall natu- 
rally look here for the most brilliant and decisive successes of 
the war. 

When the Confederate army fell back into Virginia, after 
its short but eventful campaign in Maryland, Gen. Lee, by the 
skilful disposition of his forces in front of Winchester, ren- 
dered it impracticable for McClellan to invade the Valley of 
the Shenandoah, and forced him to adopt the route on the east 
side of the Blue Ridge. The Federal commander accepted 
this alternative the more readily, since he hoped, by an osten- 
tatious display of a part of his forces near Shepherdstown, to 
deceive Gen. Lee and gain his flank and rear at Warrenton. 



188 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

On his arrival at this latter place, however, much to his sur- 
prise and dismay, he found the forces of Lee quietly awaiting 
him on the south bank of the Rappahannock. 

McClellan having been superseded by Burnside, that officer 
undertook a plan of campaign entirely on his own responsi- 
bility, in opposition to the suggestions of Halleck and to what 
were known to be the predilections of the military authorities 
at Washington. The plan of Gen. Burnside was to concentrate 
the army in the neighborhood of Warrenton, to make a small 
movement across the Rappahannock as a feint, with a view to 
divert the attention of the Confederates and lead them to be- 
lieve he was going to move in the direction of Gordonsville, 
and then to make a rapid movement of the whole army to 
Fredericksburg, on the north side of the Rappahannock. 

In moving upon Fredericksburg, Gen. Burnside calculated 
that his army would all the time be as near Wasliington as 
would the Confederates, and that after arriving at Fredericks- 
burg it would be at a point nearer to Richmond than it would 
be even if it should take Gordonsville. 

This novel enterprise against the Confederate Capital was 
hailed by the Northern newspapers with renewed acclamations 
of " on to Richmond ;" and the brazen and familiar prophecy 
of the fall of the city " within ten days" was repeated with 
new emphasis and bravado. In the mean time the plans of 
Burnside, so far as they contemplated a surprise of the Con- 
federates, had failed, and at Fredericksburg, as at Warrenton, 
his array found itself, by the active movements of Gen. Lee, 
confronted by a force sufficient to dispute its advance and to 
deliver battle on a scale commensurate with the stake. 

THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 

Gen. Burnside having concentrated his army at Fredericks- 
burg, employed himself for several days in the latter part of 
November in bringing up from Aquia Creek all the pontoons 
he could for building the bridges which were necessary to 
throw his forces across the river. Several councils of war were 
called to decide about crossing the Rappahannock. It was 
finally determined to cross at Fredericksburg, under the im- 
pression that Gen. Lee had thrown a large portion of his force 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAE. 189 

down the river and elsewhere, thus weakening his defences in 
front. 

On the night of the 10th of December the enemy commenced 
to throw three bridges over the Rappahannock — two at Fred- 
ericksburg, and the third about a mile and a quarter below, 
near the mouth of Deep Run. In the prosecution of this 
work, the enemy was defended by his artillery on the hills of 
Stafford, which completely commanded the plain on which 
Fredericksburg stands. The narrowness of the Rappahannock, 
its winding course, and deep bed, afforded opportunity for the 
construction of bridges at points beyond the reach of our artil- 
lery, and the banks had to be watched by skirmishers. The 
houses of Fredericksburg afforded a cover for the skirmishers 
at the bridges opposite the town, but at the lowest point of 
crossing no shelter could be had. 

The 17th Mississippi regiment, Barksdale's brigade, being on 
picket within the town, were ordered to the bluff overlooking 
the site of the old railroad bridge. The moon was brilliant, 
and by its light our men could distinguish the enemy's forces 
working on a pontoon bridge stretching from the Stafford bank 
towards the foot of the bluff. In the course of an hour the 
bridge had been stretched within sixty yards of the southern 
shore. The work was going bravely on, when the two com- 
panies of the 17th, who were lying on the extreme verge of the 
bluff, were ordered to fire. The order was deliberately given 
and executed. At the crack of our rifles, the bride-builders 
scampered for the shore ; but the next moment there was 
opened upon the bluff a terrific fire of shell, grape, and mus- 
ketry, which was kept up until our troops retired. Twice again, 
at intervals of half an hour, the enemy renewed the attempt 
to complete the bridge, but was in each instance repulsed. 
After the third repulse of the enemy, the whole of Barksdale's 
brigade was ordered to the support of the 17th regiment, and 
were put into position, some in the rear of the bluft' and others 
higher up and lower down the stream. At this juncture the 
enemy's fire from cannon and small-arms became so tremen- 
dous and overwhelming, that our troops were only preserved 
from destruction by lying flat on their faces. In every instance 
in which a man ventured to raise his head from the earth, he 
was instantly riddled by bullets or torn to pieces by grapeshot. 



190 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAB. 

The emergency may be understood when it is borne in 'mind 
that the position occupied by our men was swept by tlie enemy's 
batteries and sliarpshooters not two hundred yards distant on 
the*opposite heights. 

Towards five o'clock in the afternoon of the 11th of Decem- 
ber, three rousing cheers from the river bank beneath the bluff 
announced that the enemy had completed the bridge, and that 
his troops had effected a landing on the southern bank. About 
this time the order for a retreat was received by our men. 
The regiments of the. brigade fell back by different streets, 
firing as they retreated upon the enemy, who closely followed 
them. The brigade rendezvoused at the market-house and 
faced the enemy. A sharp skirmish ensued, but our troops, 
acting under orders, again fell back and left the town in pos- 
session of the enemy. 

It having become evident to Gen. Lee that no effectual op- 
position could be offered to the construction of the bridges or 
passage of the river, it only remained that positions should be 
selected to oppose the enemy's advance after crossing. Under 
cover of the darkness of the night of the 12th and of a dense 
fog, a large force passed the river, and took position on the 
right bank, protected by their heavy guns on the left. 

The effects of the enemy's bombardment upon the unfortu- 
nate town were deplorable. The majority of the population 
had long ago fled the city at the prospect of its destruction ; 
and the touching spectacles of their misery and suffering were 
seen for miles around the city, where houseless women and 
children were camped out or roaming shelterless and hungry 
through the fields. A number of citizens who had returned to 
the town under the delusion that it would not be attacked, left 
it during the day the enemy crossed the river, single or in 
families, and sought for refuge and safety in the country. 
They were scattered about — some in cabins, some in the open 
air, and others wandering vacantly along the railroads. Little 
children with blue feet trod painfully the frozen ground, and 
those whom they followed knew as little as themselves where 
to seek food and shelter. Hundreds of ladies wandered home- 
less over the frozen highway, with bare feet and thin clothing, 
knowing not where to find a place of refuge. Delicately nur-. 
tured girls, with slender forms, upon which no rain had ever 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 191 

beat, which no wind had ever visited too roughly, walked hur- 
riedly, with unsteady feet, upon the road, seeking only some 
place where they could shelter themselves. Whole families 
sought sheds by the wayside, or made roofs of fence-rails and 
straw, knowing not whither to fl}'^, or to what friend to have 
recourse. This was the result of the enemy's bombai-dment. 
Night had settled down, and though the roar of the batteries 
had hushed, the flames of burning houses still lit up the land- 
scape. 

Tlie sun of the 13th of December rose clear, but a dim fog 
shrouded the town of Fredericksburg and the circumjacent 
valleys, and delaye*& the opening of the antagonistic batteries. 
At two o'clock in the morning our troops were all under arms, 
and batteries in position to receive the expected attack of the 
enemy. 

The Rappahannock, in its course from west to east, is skirted 
just at the point where Fredericksburg stands on its southern 
bank, by low crests of hills, which on the northern bank run 
parallel and close to the river, and on the southern bank trend 
backward from the stream, and leave a semicircular plain six 
miles in length and two or three in depth, inclosed within their 
circumference before they again approach the river in the 
neighborhood of Massaponax creek. Immediately above the 
town, and on the left of the Confederate position, the bluffs 
are bold and bare of trees ; but south of the railroad, begin- 
ning near "the town and running to a point at Hamilton's cross- 
ing, and also parallel with the river, is a range of hills covered 
with dense oak forest, fringed on its northern border by pine 
thickets. Our forces occupied the whole length of this forest. 
Longstreet's corps occupied the highlands above, opposite and 
for a mile below the town. Jackson's corps rested on Long- 
street's right, and extended away to the eastward, the extreme 
right, under A. P. Hill, crossing the railroad at Hamilton's 
crossing, and stretching into the valley towards the river. 
Our front was about six miles in length. Most of the batteries 
of both corps were posted in the skirts of the forest, along 
the line of the railroad, the seven batteries in Col. Lindsey 
Walker's regiment and Stuart's horse artillery being stationed 
in the valley, between the railroad at Hamilton's crossing and 
the river. The enemy's forces occupied the valley north of 



192 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

the railroad from Fredericksburg to within half a mile of our 
extreme right. His light batteries were posted over the south- 
ern extremity of the valley, at from a quarter of a mile to a 
mile from the railroad, while the hills on the northern banks of 
the river from Falmouth to Fitzhugh's farm, five miles below 
Fredericksburg, were studded at intervals of half a mile with 
his batteries of heavy guns. 

At noon the fog had cleared away, but there was a thick 
haze in the atmosphere. About this time the enemy's infantry 
moved forward from the river towards our batteries on the 
hills. As they pressed forward across the valley, Stuart's 
horse artillery from our extreme right opened upon them a de- 
structive enfilading fire of round-shot. This fire, which an- 
noyed them sorely, was kept up in spite of six batteries which 
were directed against the horse artillery as soon as it was un- 
masked. By one o'clock the Yankee columns had crossed the 
valley and entered the woods south of the railroad. The bat- 
teries on both sides slackened their fire, and musketry, at first 
scattering, but quickly increasing to a crash and roar, sounded 
through the woods. Dense volumes of smoke rose above the 
trees, and volley succeeded volley, sometimes so rapidly as to 
blend into a prolonged and continuous roar. A. P. Hill's di- 
vision sustained the first shock of battle. The rest of Jack- 
son's corps were in different lines of reserves. D. H. Hill's 
division was drawn up in J. L. Marye's field, under a long hill, 
in rear of our line of battle. Here they remained during the 
most of the day, being moved from time to time to the right 
or left, as the exigencies of battle dictated. Shortly after the 
infantry fight began, a brigade of this division was moved at a 
double-quick a mile and a half to the right, and posted in a 
dense clump of pines, in supporting distance of Stuart's hOrse 
artillery. In ten minutes they were brought back to their 
original position. The celerity of this movement made a sin- 
gular and exciting spectacle. A long black line shoots from 
the position of the reserves, crosses the railroad at Ham.ilton's 
station, skims across the valley, and in a few moments is lost 
in the pines nearly two miles away. After scarcely a breath- 
ing spell, the same line emerges from the pines and retraces 
its steps to its original position. As this brigade resumed its 
position in reserve, the fire of musketry directly in its front 



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THE SKCOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 193 

slackened. A few crackling shots were heard to our left, 
along Longstreet's division, and then a succession of volleys, 
which were kept up at intervals during the remainder of the 
evening. The musketry lire on our right was soon renewed, 
and the battle raged with increased fury. Our batteries along 
our whole front again reopened, and Col. Walker's artillery 
regiment, composed of Latham's, Letcher's, Braxton's, Pe- 
gram's, Crenshaw's, Johnson's and Mcintosh's batteries, sta- 
tioned in the open low grounds, to the east of the railroad at 
Hamilton's station, moved forward several hundred yards in 
the direction of Fredericksburg. Hill's and Early's troops 
had driven the enemy from the woods and across the railroad 
in the direction of their pontoon bridges near Deep Run.' Our 
men pursued them a mile and a half across the bottom land, 
and fell back only when they had gotten under the shelter of 
their batteries. Again the enemy rallied and returned to re- 
new the contest, but were again driven back. All the batteries 
of Jackson's corps were at this time in full play, and in the 
approaching twilight the blaze of the guns and the quick 
flashes of the shells more distinctly visible, constituted a scene 
at once, splendid and terriiic. 

On the right wing the enemy had been driven back with 
great loss. Gen. Stuart had well redeemed his grim dispatch — 
that he was " going to crowd 'em with artillery." The enor- 
mous strength of this military arm had been used with desper- 
ation on one side and devoted courage on the other. The 
enemy had twenty thousand men engaged on this wing, while, 
altogether, from iirst to last, we had not more than ten thou- 
sand in the line of fire. 

But while the battle was dashing furiously against the lines 
of Jackson, the enemy was crossing troops over his bridges at 
Fredericksburg and massing them in front of Longstreet, in 
the immediate neighborhood of the town. 

On reference to the positions of the battle-field, it will be 
apparent that the left of the Confederate army — a portion of it 
stationed not more than four hundred yards from Fredericks- 
burg — occupied a much stronger position than the centre and 
right. There was not sufficient room for the Yankee troops 
destined for the attack of the nearest Confederate batteries to 
deploy and form, except under a deadly Confederate fire, 

13 



194 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

whereas, the Yankee troops wlio attacked the Confederate 
centre and right, had a large pLiin on which to deploy, and 
had much fewer disadvantages of ground to contend with, in- 
asmuch as they advanced against lower hills and had the long 
spurs of copse to assist them as points of attack, calculated to 
protect and serve as points d^ajppui to the Yankees if they 
could once have succeeded in carrying and holding them. 

In this part of the field the enemy displayed a devotion that 
is remarkable in history. This display does not adorn the 
Yankees ; it was made by a race that has left testimonies of 
its courage in such stories as Waterloo and Fontenoy. To the 
Irish division, commanded by Gen. Meagher, was principally 
committed the desperate task of bursting out of the town of 
Fredericksburg, and forming under the withering fire of the 
Confederate batteries, to attack Marye's Heights, towering 
immediately in their front. . The troops were harangued in 
impassioned language by their commander, who pointed to the 
heights as the contested prize of victory. 

The heights were occupied by the Washington Artillery and 
a portion of McLaws' division. As the enemy advanced, the 
artillery reserved their fire until he arrived within two hundred 
and fifty yards, when they opened on the heavy masses with 
grape and canister. At the first broadside of the sixteen guns 
of the battalion, hundreds of the enemy went down, and at 
every successive discharge, great furrows were plowed through 
their ranks. They staggered repeatedly, but were as often 
rallied and brought forward. Again and again they made 
frantic dashes upon our steady line of fire, and as often were 
the hill-sides strewn for acres with their corpses. At last, no 
longer able to withstand the withering fire, they broke and fled 
in confusion. Tliey were pressed into town by our infantry. 
Our victory was complete all along the line. When the voices ' 
of our oflicers in the darkness ordered the last advance, the 
combat had terminated in the silence of the foe. 

The enemy left behind him a ghastly field. Some portions 
of it were literally packed with his dead. At the foot of 
Marye's Heights was a frightful spectacle of carnage. The 
bodies which had fallen in dense masses within forty yards 
of the muzzles of Col. Walton's guns, testified to the gallantry 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 195 

of the Irish division, and showed what raanner of men they 
were who pressed on to death with the dauntlessness of a race 
whose courage history has made indisputable. The loss of the 
enemy was out of all comparison in numbers with our own ; 
the evidences of its extent do not permit us to doubt that it 
was at least ten thousand ; while our own killed and wounded, 
during the operations since the movements of the enemy began 
at Fredericksburg, amounted to about eighteen hundred. 

At the thrilling tidings of Fredericksburg the hopes of the 
South rose high that we were at last to realize some important 
and practical consequences from the prowess of our arms. We 
had obtained a victory in which the best troops of the North 
— including Sumner's grand division — had been beaten ; in 
which defeat had left the shattered foe cowering beneath the 
houses of Fredericksburg ; and in which he had been forced 
into a position which left him no reasonable hope of escape, 
with a river in his rear, which, though threaded by pontoon 
bridges, would have been impassable under the pressure of 
attack. It is remarkable that, so far as the war had progress- 
ed, although fought on an almost unparalleled scale in num- 
bers, it was yet not illustrated by the event so common in the 
military history of Europe, of the decisive annihilation of any 
single army< But it was thought that Fredericksburg, at least, 
would give an illustration of a decisive victory in this war. 
The Southern public waited with impatience for the comple- 
tion of the success that had already been announced, and the 
newspapers were eagerly scanned for the hoped-for intelligence 
that Gen. Lee had, by the vigor of a fresh assault, dispatched 
his crippled enemy on the banks of the river. But no such 
assault was made. While the public watched with keen im- 
patience for the blow, the announcement came that the enemy, 
after having remained entirely at his leisure one day in Fred- 
ericksburg, had the next night crossed the Rappahannock 
without accident or a single effort at Interruption on our part, 
and that the army of Burnside, which was a short while ago 
thought to be in the jaws of destruction, was quietly reorgan- 
izing in perfect security on the north bank of the river. It 
was the old lesson to the South of a barren victory. The story 
of Fredericksburg was incomplete and unsatisfactory ; and 



196 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

there appeared no prospect but that a war waged at awful 
sacrifices was yet indefinitely to linger in the trail of bloody 
skirmishes. 

The victory, which had only the negative advantage of hav- 
ing checked the enemy without destroying him, and the vulgar 
glory of our having killed and wounded several thousand men 
more than we had lost, had been purchased by us witli lives, 
though comparatively small in numbers, yet .infinitely more 
precious than those of mercenary hoi'des arrayed against us. 
Two of our brigadier-generals — Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb of 
Georgia and Gen. Maxcy Gregg of South Carolina — had fallen 
on the field. The loss of each was more conspicuous from ex- 
traordinary personal worth than from mere distinctions of 
rank. Gen. Cobb was the brother of Gen. Howell Cobb, and 
was an able and eloquent member of the Provisional Congress, 
in which body he had served in the important capacity of 
chairman of the committee on military affairs. 

Of the virtues and services of Gen. Maxcy Gregg it is not 
necessary to remind any portion of the people of the South 
by a detailed review of incidents in his career. His name was 
familiarly coupled with the first movements of the war, he 
having been appointed to the command of the 1st South Caro- 
lina regiment, the first force from the State whi^h arrived in 
Virginia, and whose advent at Richmond had been hailed with 
extraordinary demonstrations of honor and welcome. The term 
of the service of this regiment having expired, it returned to 
South Carolina, but its commander. Col. Gregg, remained in 
Yirginia, and subsequently reorganized the regiment, which 
had since been constantly and conspicuously in service. Its 
commander was subsequently made a brigadier-general.. 

Gen. Gregg, although the occupations of his life were prin- 
cipally professional, had a large and brilliant political reputa- 
tion in his State. He was a leading member of the bar, and 
practised his professioh with distinction and success for a 
period of more than twenty years in Columbia. In politics he 
was an extreme State Rights man, and stood, with others, at 
the head A' that party in South Carolina. He took a promi- 
nent part in favor of the policy of reopening the slave-trade, 
which had been the subject of some excited and untimely dis- 
cussion in the South some years ago ; he and ex-Governor 




J 



L"^ GEN. LONGSTREET. 

From a Phoio graph taken / 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 197 

Adams, of South Carolina, being associated as the leading 
representatives of that idea in the cotton States, 

Gen, Gregg was remarkable for his firm and unflinching 
temper. In the army he had an extraordinary reputation for 
self-possession and sang froid in battle. He was never discon- 
certed, and had the happy faculty of inspiring the courage of 
his troops, not so much by words as by his cool determination 
and even behavior. 

The romance of the story of Fredericksburg is written no 
less in the quiet heroism of her women than in deeds of arms. 
The verses of the poet rather than the cold language of a mere 
chronicle of events are most fitting to describe the beautiful 
courage and noble sacrifices of those brave daughters of Yir- 
ginia, who preferred to see their homes reduced to ashes, 
rather than polluted by the Yankee, and who in the blasts of 
winter, and in the fiercer storms of blood and fire, went forth 
undismayed, encouraging our soldiers, and proclaiming their 
desire to suff'er privation, poverty, and death, rather than the 
shame of a surrender or the misfortune of a defeat. In all 
the terrible scenes of Fredericksburg, there were no weakness 
and tears of women. Mothers, exiles from their homes, met 
their sons in the ranks, embraced them, told them their duty, 
an*d with a self-negation most touching to witness, concealed 
their want, sometimes their hunger, telling their brave boys 
they were comfortable and happy, that they might not be 
troubled with domestic anxieties. At Hamilton's crossing, 
many of the women had the opportunity of meeting their rela- 
tives in the army. In the haste of fiight, mothers had brought 
a few garments, or perhaps the last loaf of bread for the sol- 
dier boy, and the lesson of duty w^hispered in the ear gave to 
the young heart the pure and brave inspiration to sustain it in 
battle. No more touching and noble evidence could be offered 
of the heroism of the women of Fredericksburg than the grati- 
tude of our army ; for, afterwards, when subscriptions for their 
relief came to be added up, it was found that thousands of 
dollars had been contributed by ragged soldiers out of their 
pittance of pay to the fund of the refugees. There could be 
no more eloquent tribute than this ofi'ered to the women of 
Fredericksburg — a beautiful and immortal souvenir of their 
sufi'erings and virtues. 



198 TIIK SKCOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

What was endured in the Yankee sacking of the town, finds 
scarcely anywhere a parallel in the history of civilized races. 
It is impossible to detail here the murderous acts of the 
enemy, the arsons, the robberies, the torture of women, and 
the innumerable and indescribable villanies committed upon 
helpless people. The following extract from the New York 
Tribune^ written by one of its army correspondents in a tone 
of devilish amusement, affords a glimpse of Burnside's brig- 
ands in Fredericksburg, and of the accustomed barbarities of 
the enemy : 

" The old mansion of Douglas Gordon — perhaps the wealth- 
iest citizen in the vicinity — is now used as the headquarters of 
General Howard, but before he occupied it, every room had 
been torn with shot, and then all the elegant furniture and 
works of art broken and smashed by the soldiers, who burst 
into the house after having driven the rebel sharpshooters from 
behind it. When I entered it early this morning, before its 
occupation by Gen. Howard, I found the soldiers of his fine 
division diverting themselves with the rich dresses found in 
the wardrobes; some had on bonnets of the fashion of last 
year, and were surveying themselves before mirrors, which, an 
hour or two afterwards, were pitched out of the window and 
smashed to pieces upon the pavement ; others had elegant 
scarfs bound round their heads in the form of turbans, and 
shawls around their waists. 

" We destroyed by fire nearly two whole squares of build- 
ings, chiefly used for business purposes, together with the fine 
residences of O. McDowell, Dr. Smith, J. H. Kelly, A. S. 
Cott, William Slaughter, and many other smaller dwellings. 
Every store, I think, without exception, was pillaged of every 
valuable article. A fine drug-store, which would not have 
looked badly on Broadway, was literally one mass of broken 
glass and jars." 

The records of the Spanish and Moorish struggles, the wars 
of the Koses, and the thirty years' war in Germany, may be 
safely challenged for comparisons with the acts of barbarity 
of the Yankees. Their worst acts of atrocity were not com- 
mitted in the mad intoxication of combat, but in cold and 
cowardly blood on the helpless and defenceless. • While the 
lawless and savage scenes in Fredericksburg, to which we 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 199 

have referred, were still fresh in the public mind, the enemy in 
another department of the war, was displaying the same fiend- 
ish temper, stung by defeat and emboldened with the prospect 
of revenging his fortunes on the women and children of the 
'South. The Yankee incursions and raids in North Carolina 
in the month of December are companion pieces to the sack of 
Fredericksburg. 

" On entering Williamstown, North Carolina," says an eye- 
witness, " the Yankees respected not a single house — it mat- 
tered not whether the owner was in or absent. Doors were 
broken open and houses entered by the soldiers, who took 
every thing they saw, and what they were unable to carry 
away they broke and destroyed. Furniture of every descrip- 
tion was committed to the flames, and the citizens who dared 
to remonstrate with them were threatened, cursed, and bujffeted 

about The enemy stopped for the night at Mr. 

Ward's mill. Mr. Ward was completely stripped of every 
thing, they not even leaving him enough for breakfast. While 
on a sick-bed, his wife was, in his presence, searched and rob- 
bed of five hundred dollars. The Yankees went about fifteen 
miles above Hamilton, when, for some cause, they suddenly 
turned and marched back, taking, with some slight deviations 
in quest of plunder, the same route they had come. The town 
of Hamilton was set on fire and as many as fifteen houses laid 
in ashes. During the time the Yankees encamped at Wil- 
liarnstown every thing which they left unharmed when last 
there was demolished. Every house in town was occupied 
and defaced. Several fine residences were actually used as 
horse-stables. Iron safes were broken open, and in the pres- 
ence of their owners rifled of their contents. Several citi- 
zens were seized and robbed of the money on their persons. 
. . . . On Sunday morning Williamstown was fired, and 
no effort made to arrest the flames until several houses were 
burnt. No attempt was made by the Yankee officers, from 
Gen. Foster down, to prevent the destruction of property. On 
the contrary, they connived at it, and some of the privates did 
not hesitate to say that they were instructed to do as they had 
done. Two ladies at Williamstown went to Gen. Foster to be- 
seech protection from his soldiers, and were rudely and arro- 
gantly ordered from his presence." 



200 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR, 

Referring to the same scenes, a correspondent writes : "Fam- 
ilies who fled in dismay at the approach of the invader, re- 
turned and found, as well as the few who remained at home, 
clothes, beds, bedding, spoons, and books abstracted ; costly 
furniture, crockery, doors, harness, and vehicles demolished;, 
locks, windows, and mirrors broken ; fences burned ; corn, po- 
tatoes, and peas gathered from the barns and fields consumed; 
iron safes dug to pieces and thrown out of doors, and their con- 
tents stolen." 

The object of the enemy's movements in North Carolina, 
long a subject of anxious speculation, was at last developed, in 
time for a severe check to be given it. At the time that the 
enemy assaulted our lines in front of Fredericksburg, following 
his favorite policy of simultaneous attack in different depart- 
ments, he had planned a movement upon the Wilmington and 
Weldon railroad ; and on the same day that the battle of Fred- 
ericksburg was fought, occurred an important passage of arms 
in North Carolina. 

On the 13th of December, Brigadier-gen. Evans encoun- 
tered, with two thousand men, the advancing enemy, and with 
this small force held him in check at Southwest creek, beyond 
Kinston. The Yankee force, commanded by Foster, consisted 
of fifteen thousand men and nine gunboats. Having delayed 
their advance for some time, Gen. Evans succeeded in with- 
drawhig his force, with small loss, to the left bank of the Neuse 
river at Kinston. He held the Yankees at bay until the 16th, 
when they advanced on the opposite side of the river, 'and 
made an attack at Whitehall bridge, about eighteen miles 
below Goldsboro' ; in which they were driven back by Gen. 
Robertson, with severe loss. 

The important object on our side was to protect the railroad 
bridge over the Neuse, and the county bridge about half a 
mile above ; and to effect this, reinforcements having reached 
us, a rapid disposition of our forces was made. During the 
17th, the enemy appeared in force before Gen. Clingman's three 
regiments, and he withdrew, across the C(;unty bridge, to this 
side of the river. The artillery of the enemy was playing upon 
the railroad bridge ; and Evans' brigade had at last to move 
forward by the county road, and cross, if at all, the bridge a 
half mile above the railroad. About two o'clock in the after- 



THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAK. 201 

'noon one bold and daring incendiary succeeded in reaching the 
bridge, and covered by the wing wall of the abutment, lighted 
a flame which soon destroyed the superstructure, leaving the 
masonry, abutments, and pier intact. 

It was very important for us now to save the county bridge, 
the only means remaining of crossing the river in the vicinity. 
Evans' and Clingman's brigades were ordered to cross, sup- 
ported by Pettigrew's brigade; and the Mississippi brigade, 
just coming in, was ordered to move forward at once. The 
enemy were driven back from their position on the line of the 
railroad, but on account of the lateness of the hour, the nature 
of the ground, and the fact that our artillery, cavalry, and a 
large portion of the reinforcements had not yet arrived, it was 
not deemed advisable to attack their strong second position that 
evening. During the night the enemy niade a hurried retreat 
to their fortifications and gunboats, moving with such celerity 
that it was useless to attempt pursuit with any other arms than 
cavalry, of which, at that time, unfortunately, we had none. 

Our loss in these engagements was inconsiderable — seventy- 
one killed and two hundred and sixty-eight wounded. The 
enemy's occupation of Kinston, and the bridge there, pre- 
vented a body of our men, about five hundred in number, from 
escaping. The greater part were taken prisoners and paroled, 
and some few succeeded in escaping higher up on the river. 

The substantial achievements of the grand army of invasion 
were, that they burned the superstructure of two bridges, which 
cost originally less than ten thousand dollars. They had ut- 
terl}'^ failed to attempt to take advantage of the temporary 
and partial interruption of our railroad line, for the purpose 
of striking a decisive blow at any important point before we 
could thoroughly re-establish our communication without it. 

In other quarters of the war less imj)ortant than Virginia or 
North Carolina, the early months of the winter were distin- 
guished by some combats of various importance. The feeble 
campaign in the country west of the Mississippi was marked 
by one engagement, the dimensions of which were large for 
that campaign, but the situation of which was too distant to 
aflfect the general condition of the Confederacy. 

On the 27th of November, Gen. Hindman came up with the 
enemy at Prairie Grove, near Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a 



202 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 

force of about nine thousand men. The enemy, under the 
command of Gen. Blount, was already largely superior in 
numbers; and it was the object of Ilindman to cut oif rein- 
forcements of seven or eight thousand, which were on the 
march. In this he failed ; but, nothing daunted, brought on 
the attack at daylight, capturing, in the first charge of Gen. 
Marmaduke's cavalry, a whole regiment, and twenty-three 
wagons heavily laden with quartermaster and medical stores. 
Soon after sunrise the fight commenced in good earnest, and 
with no cessation the artillery continued until niglitfall. Our 
whole line of infantry were in close conflict nearly the whole 
day with the enemy, who were attempting, with their force of 
eighteen thousand men, to drive us from our position. In every 
instance they were repulsed, and finally driven back from the 
field ; Gen. Ilindman driving them to within eight miles of 
Fayetteville, when our forces fell back to their supply depot, 
between Cane Hill and Van Buren. We captured three hun- 
dred prisoners and vast quantities of stores. The enemy's loss 
in killed and wounded was about one thousand; the Confeder- 
ate loss, in killed, wounded, and missing, about three hundred. 
In one of the charges of the engagement, Gen. Stein, of the 
Missouri State Guard, was killed, a ball passing directly through 
his brain. 

The close of the year 1862 leaves little to record of events of 
importance suflicient to afi:ect the fortunes of the war, beyond 
what has been related in these pages with more or less par- 
ticularity of detail. In that large expanse of country between 
the Mississippi and the tributaries of the Atlantic, events, since 
our last reference to these theatres of the war, were of little ap- 
parent importance, although they were preparing for a grand 
tragedy of arms upon which we shall find that the first page 
of the new year opens. There were daring forays, brilliant 
skirmishes and entei'prises of our cavalry, to which a brief 
reference is only possible in these pages. Such were the ex- 
ploits of Generals Forrest and Morgan, our distinguished cav- 
alry commanders in West Tennessee, in which they annoyed 
the enemy, destroyed railroad bridges and Federal property, 
and captured several towns in successful raids. On the 7th of 
December a single expedition, sent out under Morgan from 
Gen, Bragg's lines, attacked an outpost of the enemy at Harts- 



THK SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 203 

ville, on the Cumberland, killed and wounded two hundred, 
captured eighteen hundred prisoners, two pieces of artillery, 
and two thousand small-arms, and all other stores at the po- 
sition, I^Tor in our slight record of indecisive but gallant 
incidents of the war, must we neglect to mention the bravo 
enterprise of Col. Clarkson, another, choice spirit of Southern 
chivalry, who, with a detachment of the Virginia State line, 
penetrated into Kentucky, captured the town of Piketon on 
the 8th of December, secured a large amount of stores, and 
nipped an important enterprise of the enemy in the bud. 

In the mean time some important new assignments of mili- 
tary command had been made in preparation for the winter 
campaign, and happily inspired the country with renewed 
conlidence in the fortunes of the war. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith, 
whose patriotism was as enthusiastic as his military genius was 
admirable (for he had broken ties as well as restraints in es- 
caping from the North to join the standard of his native 
South), had taken command in North Carolina. Gen. Beau- 
regard had been assigned to the important care of the defences 
of Charleston and Savannah, threatened by the most formida- 
ble armadas that the warlike ingenuity and lavish expenditure 
of the enemy had yet produced. Gen. Pemberton had relieved 
Van Dorn of the army of the Southwest at Holly Springs, 
which had been taken by surprise on the 20th of December, 
and was now in our possession ; and that latter officer, ill- 
starred by fortune, but whose gallantry and enterprise were 
freely acknowledged, was appropriately appointed to take 
command of the cavalry forces in the West. The command 
of all the forces between the Alleghany and the Mississippi 
was intrusted to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, whose matchless 
strategy had more than once enlightened the records of the 
war, and whose appointment to this large and important com- 
mand was hailed with an outburst of joy and enthusiastic confi- 
dence in all parts of the South. 



204 THE SECOND YEAE OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The eastern Portion of Tennessee. — Its Military Importance. — Composition of 
Bragg's Army. — The Battle of Murfreesboro'. — The Right Wing of the Enemy 
routed. — Bragg's Exultations. — The Assault of the 2d of January. — " The hloody 
crossing of Stone River." — The Confederates fall back to Tullahoma. — Review of the 
Battle-tield of Murfreesboro'. — Repulse of the Enemy at Vicksburg. — The Recap- 
ture OF Galveston. — The Midnight March. — Capture of the " Harriet Lane." — ■ 
Arkansas Post taken by the Yankees. — Its Advantages. — The affair of the Rams in 
Charleston Harbor. — Naval structure of the Confederacy. — Capture of the Yankee 
gunboat " Queen of the West." — Heroism of George Wood. — Capture of the " In- 
dianola."— The War on the W^ater. — The Confederate Cruisers. — Prowess of the 
" Alabama." 

The eastern portion of Tennessee abounds in hills, rocks, 
poverty, and ignorance. But its military situation was one of 
great importance to the Confederacy. The enemy already 
held West and Middle Tennessee. It required but to occupy 
East Tennessee to have entire possession of one of the most 
valuable States of the Confederacy, They also felt bound in 
honor and duty to render the long-promised assistance to the 
Unionists of East Tennessee. Tennessee would be more 
thoroughly theirs than Kentucky, when once they filled this 
eastern portion of it with their armies. The essential geo- 
graphical importance of this country to the Confederacy was 
too obvious to be dwelt upon. It covered Georgia and involved 
the defences of the cotton region of the South. Through it ran 
a great continental line of railroad, of which the South could 
not be deprived without unspeakable detriment. The impor- 
tance of this road to the supply of our armies was no less con- 
siderable than to the supply %^ our general population. 

The gallant and heroic army of the Confederacy, commanded 
by. Gen. Braxton Bragg, composed of Floridians, Louisianians, 
South Carolinians, Georgians, and Kentuckians, numbering be- 
tween thirty and forty thousand men, had occupied Murfrees- 
boro' for over a month, in confidence and security, never 
dreaming of the advance of the enemy. President Davis had. 
visited and reviewed the brave veterans of Fishing creek, 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 205 

Pensacola, Donelson, Shiloh, Periyville, and Hartsville, and, 
satisfied of their ability to resist any foe who should have the 
temerity to attack them, he withdrew from our forces Steven- 
son's division, of Kirby Smith's corps, numbering about eight 
thousand men, leaving scarcely thirty thousand men to defend 
what was left to us of Tennessee. 

Balls, parties, and brilliant festivities relieved the ennui of 
the camp of the Confederates, On Christmas eve scenes of 
revelry enlivened Murfreesboro', and officers and men alike 
gave themselves up to the enjoyment of the hour, with an 
abandonment of all military cares, indulging in fancied se- 
curity. 

The enemy's force at JS'ashville, under command of Rose- 
crans, was not believed to have been over forty thousand, and 
the opinion was confidently entertainea that he would not 
'attempt to advance until the Cumberland should rise, to afford 
him the aid of his gunboats. Indeed, Morgan had been sent 
to Kentucky to destroy the Nashville road and cut off his 
supplies, so that he might force the enemy to come out and 
meet us. Yet, that very night, when festivity prevailed, the 
enemy was marching upon us ! 

THE BATTLE OF MURFKEESBORO'. 

The grounds in front of Murfreesboro' had been surveyed 
and examined a month before, in order to select a position for 
battle in case of surprise, and our troops were thrown forward 
to prevent such a misfortune. Polk's corps, with Cheatham's 
division, occupied our centre, Maney's brigade being thrown 
forward towards Lavergne, where-Wheeler's cavalry was annoy- 
ing the enemy. A portion of Kirby Smith's corps, McCown's 
division, occupied Readyville on our right, and Hardee's corps 
occupied Triune on our left, with Wharton's cavalry thrown 
out in the vicinity of Franklin. 

Festival and mirth continued on Christmas day, but the day 
following, Fi-iday, the 26th, was a most gloomy one. The rain 
fell in torrents. JThat same evening couriers arrived and 
reported a general advance of the enemy. All was excitement 
and commotion, and the greatest activity prevailed. The 
enemy had already driven in 6ur advance front. Hardee's 



206 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 

corps fell back from Triune. Major-gen. McCown's division 
was ordered to march to Murfreesboro' at once, having received 
the order at midniglit. Heavy skirmishing by Wheeler and 
Wharton's cavalry had continued since the 25th. On the 2Yth 
the ground for our line of battle was selected in front of the 
town, about a mile and a half distant on Stone's river. The 
enemy had now advanced beyond Triune, his main body 
occupying Stuart's creek, ten miles from town. On the 28th 
our troops took up their position in line of battle. Polk's 
corps, consisting of Withers' and Cheatham's divisions, formed 
our left wing, and was posted about a mile and a half on the 
west side of Stone's river, its right resting on the Nashville 
road, and its left extending as far as the Salem pike, a distance 
of nearly six miles. Hardee's corps, consisting of Breckin- 
ridge's and Cleburne's division&, was formed on the east bank 
of the river, its left resting near the Nashville road, and its 
right extending towards the Lebanon pike, about three miles 
in length, making our line of battle about nine miles in length, 
in the shape of an obtuse angle. McCown's division formed 
the reserve, opposite our centre, and Jackson's brigade was 
held in reserve on the right flank of Hardee. Stone's river 
crosses the Salem pike about a mile and a half on the south 
side of the town, making a curve below the pike about a mile 
further south, and then runs nearly north and south in front 
of Murfreesboro', crossing the Nashville pike and extending 
towards the Lebanon pike, some half a mile, when it makes 
another turn or bend and runs nearly east and west, emptying 
into the Cumberland river. The river, at the shoals, where 
it crosses the Nashville pike, was fordable, and not over ankle 
deep. The banks above and below were rather steep, being 
some five to eight feet high, with rocky protrusions. The 
nature of the country was undulating, but mostly level in our 
front, with large, open fields. To the right or the west side 
the ground was more rolling, with rocky upheaval and crop- 
pings of limestone and thick cedar groves. On the side of the 
river towards the Lebanon pike were thin patches of woods 
and rocky projections. 

On the 29th there was continued skirmishing by our cavalry 
forces, the enemy gradually advancing. On the 30th the 
enemy had advanced by three columns and took up his posi- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 207 

tion about a mile in oiir front. At no'on he shelled our 
right and centre, in order to feel our reserves. At 3 p. m. 
the enemy made an advance on our left, and attempted to 
drive us back in order to occupy the ground for his right wing. 
A spirited engagement immediately commenced, Gen. Polk 
having ordered forward a portion of Withers' division. Robin- 
son's battery held the enemy in check, keeping up a most 
deadly and destructive fire. Three times the enemy charged 
this battery, but were repulsed by the gallant one hundred and 
fifty-fourth Tennessee. Col. Loomis, commanding Gardner's 
brigade, and the brigade formerly Duncan's, with the South 
Carolinians, Alabamians, and Louisianians, were most hotly 
engaged, and though sufi'ering considei-ably, succeeded in dri- 
ving back the enemy with great slaughter. It was now clear 
that the enemy intended to mass his forces on our left, in order 
to make a flank movement the next day, and obtain, if possible, 
the Salem pike, which, if successful, would give him possession 
of the Chattanooga railroad. Cleburne's division, of Hardee's 
corps, and Major-gen. McCown's division, were immediately 
ordered over towards the Salem pike to reinforce our extreme 
left wing. "Wheeler's cavalry had already gained the enemy's 
rear, and had captured a train of wagons and a number of 
prisoners. A cold, drizzling rain had set in, and our troops 
were greatly exposed, being without shelter, and bivouacking 
by their camp fires. 

On the morning of the 3 1st, the grand battle was opened. 
At the break of day on the cold and cloudy morning, Gen. 
Hardee gave the order to advance, and the fight was opened 
by McCown's division, with Cleburne, advancing upon the 
enemy's right wing under Gen. McCook. The charge was of 
the most rapid character. The alarm given by the enemy's 
pickets scarcely reached his camp before the Confederates 
were upon it. The sight of our advance was a most magnifi- 
cent one. Two columns deep, with a front of nearly three- 
fourths of a mile, the line well preserved and advancing with 
great rapidity, on came the Confederate left wing, the bayo- 
nets glistening in a bright sun, which had broken through the 
thick fog. 

The enemy was taken completely by surprise, their artillery 
horses not even being hitched up. Such was the impetuosity 



208 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAE. 

of the charge, that the enemy fell back in dismay, onr troops 
pouring in a most murderous fire. With such rapidity did our 
men cross the broken ploughed fields, that our artillery could 
not follow them, Whai-ton's cavalry had charged a battery, 
the horses not being harnessed, and driving back the infantry 
supporting it, succeeded in capturing it. The enemy having 
gradually recovered, now disputed our further advance, and 
the battle raged with terrific violence. They continued to fall 
back, however, under our fire, until we had swung round nearly 
our whole left on their right, as if on a pivot, driving the en- 
emy some six miles towards his centre, when Withers and 
Cheatham also hurled their divisions on the foe with such ter- 
rible effect,- that battery after battery was taken, and their 
dead lay in heaps upon the field. The enemy was now driven 
towards the Nashville road, about a mile in front of our centre, 
and took a commanding position on an eminence overlooking 
the plain, and which was protected by rocks and a dense cedar 
wood. 

The battle had been terrific ; crash upon crash of musketry 
stunned the ear ; the ground trembled with the thunder of ar- 
tillery ; the cedars rocked and quivered in the fiery blast, and 
the air was rent with the explosion of shells. The enemy at 
several points offered a most gallant resistance, but nothing 
human could withstand the impetuosity of that charge. A 
spirit of fury seemed to possess our men, from the command- 
ers down to the common soldiers, and on they swept, shot and 
shell, canister, grape, and bullets tearing through their ranks, 
until the way could be ti-aced by th,e dead and dying. Still on 
they went, overturning infantry and artillery alike, driving the 
enemy like the hurricane scatters the leaves upon i^s course, 
capturing hundreds of prisoners, and literally blackening the 
ground with the dead. Such a charge was never before wit- 
nessed. For miles, through fields and forests, over ditches, 
fences, and ravines, they swept. Brigade after brigade, bat- 
tery after battery, were thrown forward to stay their onward 
march ; but another volley of musketry, another gleaming of 
the bayonet, and like their predecessors they were crushed into 
one common ruin. 

It was now about noon. Our charge had been one of splen- 
did results. We had already captured some five thousand 



THE SECOND YEAR OF IME WAR. 209 

prisoners, nearly thirty pieces of cannon, some five thousand 
stand of arms, and ammunition wagons. We had broken the 
enemy's right, having driven him for nearly five hours on a 
curve, a distance of over five miles from our extreme left to 
the enemy's centre, and backwards about three miles from our 
centre. The Yankees had made a stand only where the natu- 
ral advantages of the ground sheltered them. 

Rosecrans had not been dismayed by the events of the morn- 
ing, and had watched them wntli an air of confidence which his 
subordinate oflicers found it difficult to imderstand. Referrina: 
to his adversary, he said : " I'll show him a trick worth two of 
his." Gen. Rosecrans was well aware of the danger of advan- 
cing reinforcements from his left or centre. The Confederates 
lay in his front, within sight and almost within hearing. He 
knew that they were anxiously watching his movements, and 
waiting to see which part of his line would be weakened. But . 
though he declined to send McCook reinforcements, Rosecrans 
employed himself in so preparing his line as to aid McCook to 
get safely on his right. His preparations were to halt the Con- 
federates on his defeated right without exposing his left and 
centre to imminent danger. For this j)urpose he quickly de- 
termined to mass his artillery on the position occupied by the 
centre. These movements were masked by immense cedar 
forests. Thus prepared, at the proper moment the centre of 
the enemy was advanced a few hundred yards, and soon after 
the Confederates appeared in force pursuing his right wing. 

The position of the enemy was on an oval-shaped hill not 
very high, but furnishing an excellent position for his artillery. 
It was determined to carry this stronghold at all hazards, and 
the brigades of Chalmer and Donelson, supported by Mauley's 
and Stewart's brigades, with Cobb's, Byrne's, Chas. Smith's, 
and Slocomb's batteries, were ordered to prepare for the 
charge. It was a forlorn hope, but our men faced the mighty 
whirlwind of shot and shell with heroic firmness, and did not 
fall back till they had captured two batteries. The brigades 
of Generals Adams and Jackson, of Breckinridge's division, 
who held our right, were now ordered across the river to re- 
lieve our broken columns, and advanced towards the enemy's 
grand battery with a like coolness and heroism, but they were 
also repulsed and fell back under the enemy's terrible fire. 

14 



210 THE SKCOND YEAR OF THE "WAB. 

A portion of Gen. Hardee's command bivouacked for the 
night in the cedars, within five hundred yards of the enemy's 
lines. That night it was cold to freezing. Upon the battle- 
field lay thousands of the enemy's dead and wounded, who 
froze stiff, presenting a ghastly scene by moonlight. 

The scene in the cedars was fearful and picturesque. A 
brilliant winter moon shed its lustre amid the foliage of the 
forest of evergreens, and lighted up with silver sheen the 
ghastly battle-field. Dismounted cannon, scattered caissons, 
glittering and abandoned arms strewed the forest and field. 
The dead lay stark and stiff at every step, with clenched hands 
and contracted limbs in the wild attitudes in which they fell, 
congealed by the bitter cold. It was the eve of the new year. 
Moans of the neglected dying, mingled with the low peculiar 
shriek of the wounded artillery horses, chanted a miserere for 
the dying year. 

Amid the dim camp-fires, feebly lighted to avoid attracting 
the artillery of the enemy, groups of mutilated and shudder- 
ing wounded were huddled, and tlie kneeling forms of surgeons 
bending in the firelight over the mangled bodies of the dying, 
added to the solemnity of the night. 

The appearance of the dead on the field was remarkable, for 
the large proportion was evidently slain by artillery. The 
bodies of many of the Confederates who had advanced to the 
assault on the enemy's masked batteries were literally torn to 
pieces. The cross-fire of the artillery had had this terrible 
effect. " I saw," says a spectator of this terrible seen, " an 
officer, whose two legs, one arm, and body lay in separate parts 
of the field. I saw another whose dislocated right arm lay 
across his neck, and more than half his head was gone." 

On the day succeeding the fight. Gen. Bragg telegraphed to 
Richmond the news of a great victory, presented his compli- 
ments to the authorities, and wrote " God has granted us a 
happy new year." His exultations were over hasty, for though 
we had routed on the morning of the preceding day the right 
wing of the enemy, the final contest was yet to be decided. 

In the mean time, Rosecrans fearing that his position might 
be flanked, or from some suspicion that it was not secure, 
abandoned it that night, only to take up a still stronger one 
in the bend of the river, towards the Lebanon pike, on a couple 



THE SE(X)ND YEAR OF THE WAR. 211 

of hillocks, which he again crowned with his strongest bat- 
teries. 

Many of his generals felt despondent ; some favored retreat ; 
but the constancy of Rosecrans remained untouched. One of 
his staff-officers remarked, " Your tenacity of purpose, general, 
is a theme of universal comment." " I guess," he replied, 
" that the troops have discovered that Bragg is a good dog, 
but hold-fast is better." 

The first of the year found the enemy strongly intrenched, 
with his right drawn up a little on the south side of the Nash- 
ville pike, while his left remained fortified in the bend of the 
river, already described. Our position was greatly advanced 
on the left and centre, but otherwise remained the same. On 
that day Gen. Bragg issued the following address to his army : 

'' The general commanding is happy to announce to the 
troops the continued success of our arms yesterday. Generals 
Wheeler and Wharton, with the cavalry, again assaulted the 
enemy's line of communication, capturing over two hundred 
wagons and other stores. Twice have we now made the cir- 
cuit of the enemy's forces, and destroyed his trains, and not 
less than six hundred wagons,*and three thousand mules have 

fallen into our hands Our success continues 

uninterrupted. One more struggle, and the glorious victory 
already achieved will be crowned by the rout of the enemy, 
who are now greatly demoralized. The general commanding 
has every confidence that his gallant troops will fully meet his 
expectations." 

It was confidently believed that the enemy would retreat 
on the night of the 31st, but as he did not, it was concluded 
to wait and see if he would make any attack. The day conse- 
quently passed off quietly, excepting some slight skirmishing. 

On the 2d of January, the ill-omened Friday, the attitude 
of the two armies remained the same during the morning, and 
without incident, except some shelling on our right. 

By three o'clock it was determined to assault the enemy's 
stronghold on the bend of the river. It was a desperate de- 
termination. Unfortunately, Gen. Bragg had given the enemy 
nearly two days to reorganize and concentrate his baffled 
army, so that he might the more efi'ectually make a stubborn 
resistance. 



212 THK 8EC0AD VKAR OF THE WAR. 

Tlie enemy had taken up a position at a point near the bend 
of the river where it takes a westerly course. Here rises a 
high ridge covered by a skirt of woods, on which the enemy 
had planted tlieir artillery, supported by a line of infantry. 
Behind this ridge, and in the woods and rocky ravines, lay 
concealed also a large force of the enemy. Further to the 
enemy's left was another skirt of woods, which the enemy also 
occupied, out-flanking our front nearly one thousand yards. 
Near the first skirt of .woods mentioned is a ford of tlie river, 
the opposite banks of which, from its elevated position, over- 
looks and commands the ridge above described on this side, or 
the south and east bank of the river, while one mile further 
down the river is another ford. It was at this commanding 
position in the river bend where the enemy had made his. cita- 
del, having massed his batteries of artillery and infantry in 
such a skilful manner as to protect his centre on the Nashville 
pike, and his extreme left, which now extended on our side of 
the river. Such was the position of the enemy on our extreme 
right on the morning of that memorable day of slaughter, the 
2d of January. 

Gen. Breckinridge was ordered to carry, by assault, the po- 
sition of the enemy on the ridge already described. He form- 
ed his division in two lines, changing front from his former* 
position to nearly a right angle, and facing in the direction of 
the river. Gen. Hanson's brigade, with Palmer's, now com- 
manded by Gen. Pillow, formed the first line, with Pillow on 
the right ; the second line being formed by Preston's and Gib- 
son's, two hundred yards in the rear. Col. Hunt's regiment, 
of Hanson's brigade, was left to support Cobb's battery on the 
hill. From the enemy's commanding position across the river, 
he was enabled to see all of our movements, and consequently 
prepared to resist us. Between Gen. Breckinridge's division 
and the enemy's batteries on the ridge was an intervening space 
of eight hundred yards, extending over an open field skirted 
by woods, along which the enemy's skirmishers were in such 
force as almost amounted to a line of battle. 

The attack was to be made at four o'clock, and a signal gun 
was to announce the hour. In those battalions stood the noble 
soldiers of Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, 
and North Carolina in battle array, firm and inflexible, await- 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 213 

ing the signal for combat. The report of a canndh had uot 
died upon the ear before the bugle from Hanson's brigade 
sounded a charge. The brigades moved rapidly forward 
through the thinned woods until gaining the open fields, the 
men having been instructed not to deliver their fire until close 
upon the enemy, and then to charge with the bayonet. On 
came Pillow, followed by Preston ; forward hurried Hanson, 
followed by Gibson. From the moment of gaining the field 
the enemy's artillery from the ridge opened a sweeping fire, 
and a whirlwind of Minnie balls from their infantry, with shot 
and shell, filled the air. Our men were ordered to lie down 
for a few minutes to let the fury of the storm pass. Then the 
cry from Breckinridge — " Up, my men, and charge !" — rang 
out. With the impetuosity of a torrent they rushed forward 
to the woods sloping the ridge. On dashed Wright's battery 
of Preston's brigade at a furious gallop, and soon opened fire 
upon one of the enemy's batteries about three hundred yards 
to our right. The enemy, awed by the mad bravery of our 
men, recoiled ; their ranks thinned rapidly, notwithstanding 
they received reinforcement after reinforcement. Their left 
wing, which already out-flanked us on our right, was driven 
back towards the river bank, the 20th Tennessee capturing 
some two hundred prisoners. The contest now raged fierce 
and bloody. It was one continuous roar of musketry and artil- 
lery. Facing the storm of death, our heroes charged with 
fury, and so eifective was the firing of our lines, that we car- 
ried the ridge with a wild demoniac yell, driving the enemy 
from it, with his artillery, down the hill-side and across the 
river. Capt. Wright soon reached the top of the ridge with 
his battery, and opened on the enemy with spherical case. At 
this time the concentrated fire of the enemy became terrible 
and appalling. A sheet of flame was poured forth from their 
artillery on the hills on the opposite side of the river overlook- 
ins: our left and front, and from their batteries on the river 
bank, while the opposite side also swarmed with their infantry, 
who poured in on us a most niurdei-ous fire. Still our men 
never quailed, but pressed forward and crossed the river, the 
enemy making frightful gaps in our ranks, but which were 
immediately closed up. Here ir was that in less than half an 
hour over two thousand of our brave boldiers went down ! The 



214 THK SECOND YKAR OF THE WAR. 

utter hopelessness of carrying the opposite heights, and of con- 
tending against the overwhelmingly superior numbers of the 
enemy, without artillery or ieinforcements to support us, hav- 
ing been fully tested, Gen. Breckinridge ordered his division 
to fall back. It was nearly dark when the conflict closed, and 
during the night he occupied a portion of the field in advance 
of that he occupied during the day. 

It was after the capture of the enemy's position on the ridge, 
when our men drove him across the river with terrible slaugh- 
ter of his forces, that the noble Hanson fell mortally wounded, 
exclaiming, " Forward — forward, ray brave boys, to the 
charge ;" and afterwards, when brought from the field, he said 
with his flickering breath, " I am willing to die with such a 
wound received in so glorious a cause." We had held the 
enemy's position on the ridge for about half an hour, Capt. 
E. E. Wright's battery doing admirable execution, when that 
gallant oflicer fell at his guns mortally wounded, the enemy 
having charged within seventy-five yards of his pieces. 

The final repulse of Breckenridge was a sad blow to our 
hopes. The prudence of this terrible attack upon the impreg- 
nable position of the enemy has been seriously questioned, and 
military critics of the battle of Murfreesboro' have also found 
room for censuring the neglect of Gen. Bragg in not previously 
securing the hillocks in the bend of Stone's river,, which he 
permitted the enemy to occupy. As it happened, it was a bad 
repulse, and the vivid recollections of the " bloody crossing of 
Stone's river," in which in less than one hour two thousand 
of our men were killed and wounded, long survived in our 
army. It lost us the vantage ground we had gained over the 
enemy on the 31st and greatly depressed our troops. But for 
this we would still have held Murfreesboro'. On the 3d the 
rain fell in torrents, and as our troops were worn out and 
nearly exhausted, it was determined to fall back that night, 
and not run the risk of meeting the enemy's reinforcements, 
which, it was reported, he was receiving. Every thing had 
previously been provided for the retreat. It was conducted 
with order and composure.* 

* In his oflBcial report of the battle, Gen. Bragg makes the following state- 
ment on the subject of the first day's operations, relative to their check and the 
failure to break the enemy's centre : 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 215 

Sunday morning Kosecrans moved into Murfreesboro', and 
Gen. Bragg retired to the position of Tullahoma. This place 
is in Coffee county, Tennessee, situated on Rock creek, and 
offers admirable means of defence. It is seventy-one miles 
from Nashville and thirty-two from Murfreesboro', and lies im- 
mediately on the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, where 
it is intersected by the McMinnville and Manchester road. As 
a base of operations, and as a position of defence, the place 
offered great advantages. 

So far as the relative amount of carnage affects the question 
of victory, no doubt can be entertained to which side in the 
battle of Murfreesboro' is to be ascribed the superiority. In 
the first day's fight, the number of the enemy's killed and 
wounded was probably six or seven thousand ; in the engage- 
ment which succeeded, our loss was disproportionate to the 
enemy's ; but at the close of the whole affair, the Yankees were 
doubtless greater losers in life than ourselves. In point of cap- 



" To meet our successful advance, and retrieve his losses in the front of his 
left, the enemy early transferred a portion of his reserve from his left to that 
flank, and by two o'clock had succeeded in concentrating such a force in Lieu- 
tenant-gen. Hardee's front as to check his further progress. Our two lines had 
by this time become almost blended, so weakened were they by losses, exhaus- 
tion, and extension to cover the enemy's whole front. As early as 10 o'clock, 
A. M., Major-gen. Breckenridge was called on for one brigade, and soon after for 
a second, to reinforce or act as a reserve to Lieutenant gen. Hardee. His reply 
to the first call represented the enemy crossing Stone's river in heavy force, in 
his immediate front, and on receiving the second order, he informed me that 
they had already crossed in heavy force, and were advancing to attack hia 
lines. He was immediately ordered not to await attack, but to advance and 
meet him. About this same time a report reached me that a heavy force of 
the enemy's infantry was advancing on the Lebanon road, about five miles in 
Breckenridge 's front. Brigadier-gen. Pegram, who had been sent to that road 
to cover the flank of the infantry with his cavalry brigade, save two regiments 
detached with Wheeler and Wharton, was ordered forward immediately to de- 
velop any such movement. The orders for the two brigades from Brecken- 
ridge were countermanded, whUst dispositions were made, at his request, to re- 
inforce him. Before they could be carried out, the movements ordered disclosed 
the fact that no force had crossed Stone's river ; that the only enemy in our 
immediate front then was a small body of sharpshooters ; and that there was 
no advance on the Lebanon road. These unfortunate misapprehensions on that 
part of the field, which with proper precaution could not have existed, withheld 
from active operations three fine brigades until the enemy had succeeded in 
checking our progress, had re-established his lines, and had collected many of 
his broken battalions." 



216 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

tures and with respect to the number of prisoners taken, the 
battle of Murfreesboro' may be accounted a Confederate suc- 
cess. The ground which the North has for claiming a victory 
is, that our forces fell back, and that their positions were occu- 
pied. But the c ccupation of Murfreesboro' was no important 
consideration ; the works were neither extensive nor strong ; 
and the new line of defence reorganized by Gen. Bragg was, 
as we shall see, quite sufficient to hold the enemy in check. 
The truth is, that the Yankees, although their claims to the 
victory of Murfreesboro' are questionable, had great reasons 
to congratulate themselves that an army which, in the first 
day's battle, had its right wing broken and one-third of its ar- 
tillery lost, should have escaped destruction and extricated 
itself in a manner to assure its further safety. 

But however the issue of Murfreesboro' is to be decided, the 
South had reason to expect considerable material advantages 
from events in other parts of the West. The siege of Vicks- 
burg by land was for the time virtually abandoned. Some 
engagements had taken place before this town, Mdiich were ex- 
aggerated by the telegraph ; but they were mere skirmishes, 
intended to feel the strength of the defences. Being satisfied 
that they were too strong to be attacked with safety, and prob- 
ably learning that Grant's army would never effect a junction 
with it, the Yankee force before Yicksburg re-embarked, with 
a great loss of material employed in the intrenchments pre- 
paratory to the siege. 

THE RECAPTURE 0¥ GALVESTON. 

While the new year had doubtfully opened in Tennessee, a 
brilliant success marked the same period in the distant State 
of Texas. An expedition was skilfully planned and gallantly 
executed by the brave and energetic Magruder, the results of 
which were the capture of the city and harbor of Galveston, 
a large quantity of arms, ammunition, stores, &c., the famous 
Yankee steamer Harriet Lane, and some other craft of less 
importance. 

On the night of the 31st of December, Gen. Magruder silently 
marched along the road to Galveston city. Our forces con- 
sisted of several regiments of infantry and about twenty-two 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 217 

pieces of artillery, though the principal attack was to be made 
by the artillery, as there were only about three hundred of the 
enemy in the city, and they were behind a barricade at the 
outer end of the wharf. 

Our troops reached the suburbs of the city about three 
o'clock. The streets were completely deserted ; the few in- 
habitants who had remained in the city were sleeping soundly, 
and had our men not awaked and warned them of their dano^er, 
they would have slept on until the cannon's roar had startled 
them. The march of our troops through the city was a quiet 
procession. 

The scene, the dead hour of night, and the fact that this was 
to be the first battle of many of them, all conspired to make 
them serious. Then, too, the great heavy waves came tum- 
bling and roaring in from the Gulf, chanting out upon the still 
night air, as they dashed along, something that sounded like a 
funeral dirge. But onward our men stole, through long, lonely 
streets, now around this corner and now turning that, until at 
length they reached Strand-street, which runs parallel with 
the water, and is the next one to the wharves. The moon 
was now down, and every thing was enveloped in darkness ; 
the guns were noiselessly placed in position and loaded, the 
men looking like so many shadows as they took their places in 
the gloom. There, within three hundred yards lay the Har- 
riet Lane, the Owasso, the Clifton, and two other boats, with 
their broadsides turned towards our troops, and ready to open 
upon them the moment they fired. This they knew, for the 
Yankees had been ashore the day before and told the people 
that they knew all about the plans of the " rebels," and were 
waiting for them. In fact, they were so certain of victory that 
they allowed our men to place their guns in position without 
firing upon them. 

Gen. Magruder opened the attack by firing the first gun. 
In a few moments the bright flashes, the booming reports, and 
whizzing shells told plainer than words that the action had begun 
in earnest ; for the next hour the roar of cannon was incessant. 
The clear keen crack of our little rifled guns, the dull sound 
of our sea-coast howitzers, and the mighty thundering bass of 
the columbiads and 100-pound Parrott guns on the gunboats, 
combined to form a piece of music fitted for Pandemonium. 



218 THE SECOND YEAR OF TlIK WAR. 

The fight I'aged furiously on both sides, but it was fast be- 
coming evident that our land forces alone were no match for 
the Yankee boats, with their great gmis and mortars, which 
vomited a half bushel of grape and canister at every discharge. 
Early in tlie engagement a charge was made by three hundred 
of onr infantry on three companies of the 42d Massacliusetts 
regiment, stationed behind a barricade at the end of Knhn's 
wharf. The enemy had torn up the planks from the wharf, and 
made a breastwork of them. Onr men rushed out into the 
waters with their scaling ladders and dashed up to them, but 
the position was too strong and they had to retire, leaving our 
artillery to shell them out. We lost some ten or fifteen in this 
charge, and would have lost more, but it was pitch dark and 
the Yankees fired very wildly. 

Daylight at length arrived, and every one was anxiously 
looking for our boats, which ought to have been up two hours 
before. They had come down within sight at about 12 o'clock. 
and, hearing nothing of our troops, retired five or six miles, 
under the impression that the land attack had been postponed. 
There they waited until about three o'clock, when the land 
attack began. As soon as Major Smith, who commanded the 
expedition, saw that the work had begun, he ordered all steam 
to be put on and started back. He was then a considerable 
distance from the city, and was unable to reach it until day- 
light. At that time the Bayou City and Neptune, followed in 
the distance b}^ the John F. Can and Lucy Gwinn, hospital 
boats, bore steadily down upon the Harriet Lane, then lying at 
the end of the wharf, opposite the Cotton Press. 

The Harriet Lane had for some time directed her fire at 
them, but fortunately without effect ; but when within about 
fifty yards, the Neptune received several balls, damaging her 
considerably. She kept steadily on her way, however, and in 
a few moments more ran into the Lane amidship. The enemy's 
decks were soon cleared with the buckshot from the double- 
barrel guns of the Neptune's crew, who would have boarded 
her, but it was discovered that the Neptune was i-apidly sink- 
ing, in consequence of the damages she had received. She was 
accordingly run into shoal water, about fifty yards from the 
Lane, where she sunk immediately. In the mean time the 
Yankee crew, seeing the predicament of the Neptune, came 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 219 

up on deck again, and were preparing to give her a broadside, 
when the Bayou Ciry fortunately interfered with their prepa- 
rations, by running into the Lane's wiieel-house. Anotlier 
volley of buckshot again cleared her decks. The next instant 
the crew of the Bayou City were aboard of her. Major Smith 
gallantly leading the way, and shooting the Lane's command- 
ing officer (Capt. Wainwright) as he leaped upon the deck. 
The vessel was immediately surrendered, and down came the 
Stars and Stripes and up went our flag. It was found that the 
captain and first lieutenant of the boat were both killed, and 
about thirty of her crew killed or wounded. Our loss on the 
boats was about sixteen killed, and thirty wounded. 

The Yankee boats, the Clifton and Owasso, saved themselves 
by beating out of the harbor, while the Bayou City was in 
some way entangled with her prize. The Westfield was burnt, 
as she was fast aground. Our prize was one of which we 
might well be proud. The Harriet Lane was a vessel of six 
hundred tons burden, was originally built for the revenue ser- 
vice, but at the beginning of the war with the South she was 
turned over to the navy, and at once underwent such altera- 
tions as were thought necessary to adapt her to her new ser- 
vice. At the time of her capture, she mounted eight guns of 
heavy calibre, her bow gun being a fifteen-inch rifle. 

The recapture of Galveston and the advantages which en- 
sued, were perhaps outbalanced by a disaster which shortly 
followed and overshadowed much of the prospect in the remute 
regions west of the Mississippi. This was the forcible occupa- 
tion by the Yankees of Arkansas Post and the surrender of its 
entire garrison. 

The troops garrisoning Arkansas Post at the time of attack, 
consisted of three brigades, mostly Texans, and commanded 
respectively by Cols. Garland, Deshler, and Dunnington, the 
whole forming a division under the command of Brigadier- 
gen. T. J. Churchill, and numbering, on the day of the fight, 
not more than thirty-three hundred effective men. On the 9th 
day of January a scout from below brought intelligence to 
Gen. Churchill of a Yankee gunboat having made its appear- 
ance in the Arkansas river, some thirty miles below the Post. 
Some hours later, on the same day, another scout brought news 
of other gunboats, followed by transports, making their way 



220 THE SECOND YEAH OF THE WAR. 

up the river. Upon the receipt of this intelligence, Gen. 
Churchill ordered every thing in readiness for an attack, and 
ere night closed in, all the troops were distributed along the 
line of intrenehments, where they remained all night, in a 
pelting storm of rain. The enemy, in the mean time, had 
landed a force about two miles below the fort, but they made 
no demonstration until about nine or ten o'clock the next morn- 
ing, when they commenced shelling the fort from their advance 
gunboats, that were cautiously and slowly feeling their way up 
the river. 

Our troops held the position first taken by them until about 
four o'clock, p. M., when the general, fearing a flank movement 
on our left, ordered the men to fall back to a line of intreneh- 
ments near the yet unfinished fort, which line was speedily 
completed and all the troops properly distributed before night 
set in. Just as darkness was drawing near, four gunboats ap- 
proached the fort and commenced their bombardment, our 
guns from the fort answering gallantly ; and after two hours' 
terrific shelling, the gunboats retired, one of them, the East- 
port, badly disabled. Our loss up to this time consisted of 
only three killed and some three or four wounded. 

The next morning, at ten o'clock, the enemy renewed the 
attack with gunboats and land forces combined. They had 
also erected a battery on the opposite side of the river, by 
means of which they kept up a terrible cross-fire that swept 
the whole area of ground occupied by our men. The firing 
continued until about four o'clock in the evening, when Gen. 
Churchill, seeing his defences exposed to a raking fire and 
storming parties closing upon his rear, surrendered, Gen. 
McClernand taking the whole force, making more than three 
thousand men prisoners. Our loss in killed and wounded was 
not two hundred men. 

The results of this success of the Yankees were many thou- 
sand prisoners of war, and a fortified point guarding the navi- 
gatitm of the An-kansas river, and shutting out its commerce 
from the Mississippi. But the prospect which they indulged 
of ascending without interruption to Little Rock and taking 
full possession of the Arkansas capital, was rather premature. 

There i's nothing yet important to record of the operations 
of the immense fleets of the enemy collected on our . coast in 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 221 

the winter of 1862. The armadas were as yet silent. For 
montlis a large fleet of the enemy had been at the mouth of 
Charleston hai*bor, or picketed off the coast. 

On the 30th of January the Confederate rams in the harbor 
of Charleston, under command of Capt. Ingraham, had made a 
sally towards the enemy's fleet. The success of this sally was 
ignorantly exaggerated by the Confederates, and a claim made 
that the blockade had been raised, which pretension was after- 
wards abandoned. The fact was, that one of the Yankee ves- 
sels — the Mercedita — was seriously injured, and another — the 
Keystone State — got a shot through her steam-drum, causing 
the death of twenty-one persons. The Mercedita was saved by 
the treachery of the Yankees, who represented the ship to be 
in a sinking condition, thus deceiving the Confederates as to 
the extent of the damage they had. inflicted. She steamed 
down to Port Royal, after our rams had left her, under the sup- 
position that she was sinking in shoal water. Her commander 
had called out, " We are in a sinking condition," and the reply 
of Capt. Ingraham was that she could only sink as far as her 
rails, and we could not take her crew aboard. A mean and 
cowardly falsehood saved the vessel, but in Yankee estimation 
the triumphs of such villany were quite equal to the congratu- 
lations of a victory. 

Our victory at Galveston, of which we have given some 
account, was the precursor of other captures of the enemy's 
vessels, which were important accessions to our little navy. 
That arm of service, in which we were so deficient, and had 
shown such aptitude for self-destruction, was not entirely pow- 
erless ; for we not only had rams for harbor defences and three 
fleet privateers at sea, but our power on the water was enlarged 
even beyond our expectations, as we shall see, by captures 
from the enemy. 

The Yankee gunboat Queen of the West, having succeeded 
in running our batteries at Yicksburg, had for some weeks 
been committing ravages, penetrating the country of the Red 
river. On the 14th of February she encountered in this river 
and captured a small Confederate steamer, the Era. The crew 
and passengers of the Era were taken prisoners, and all were 
guarded on board the Era by a band of soldiers, save Mr. 
George Wood, the pilot, who was ordered aboard the Queen 



222 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

of the West, and, M'ith threats, directed to her pilot-wheel to 
assist her pilot in directing her onward to the capture of our 
fort on the river. On they glided, but not distrustful, and 
much elated at their success, till they came in reach of our 
battery at five p. m., when the vessel commenced firing, still 
advancing. She had come within a quarter of a mile of our 
battery and on the opposite shore in full range for our guns, 
when the gallant Wood, who directed her wheel, had her 
rounded, ran her aground, breaking her rudder and thus crip- 
pling her and turning her broadside to give our guns a fair 
chance. This gallant man, in the confusion, made good his 
escape. Thus crippled and disabled by the hand that drove 
her on to her destiny, she lay like a wounded falcon, at the 
mercy of her adversaries. 

The night was dark and stormy, the heavens overhung with 
clouds, which now and then pealed forth their muttering thun- 
der, and drenched the earth with rain. Thus in the rain-storm 
this crippled Queen lay beaten by the tempest. She was well 
barricaded with cotton bales. On seeing all hope of success 
gone, the commanding officer. Col. Ellett, made his escape, 
with nearly all his crew, by getting on cotton bales and float- 
ing down the river. She raised the white signal, as the storm 
abated, as it was seen by the light of a burning warehouse, but 
it was not answered till next morning. Thirteen of the crew 
remained in silence till daylight, then her white banner was 
still afloat, and then, and not till then, our soldiers crossed the 
river and took possession of her. 

The fog which had enabled the Queen of the West to get by 
Vicksburg had also availed for the passage of another gunboat, 
the Indianola. This vessel had also continued for weeks to go 
at large, preying on the boats that were transporting our sup- 
plies, and harassing our forces in every way. Seeing the great 
injury and havoc that she might do, a council was held, and 
the capture of the Indianola at every sacrifice was determined 
upon. 

Accordingly an expedition was fitted out,^consisting of two 
gunboats — the Queen of the West and the Webb — and two 
steamers — the Era and Dr. Batey. The expedition was com- 
manded by Major Walker, with Captain Hutton as executive 
officer of the fleet. All being ready, the expedition started 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 223 

out from the mouth of the Red river in pursuit of the Indian- 
ola. Coming: np tlie Mississippi to Grand Gulf, it was learned 
that the Indianola was not far off, and a halt was ordered that 
all the vessels might come up. All being in line, the expedi- 
tion put up the river, and on the 24th of February came upon 
the Indianola, overhauling her about five miles below New 
Carthage, and some thirty below Vicksburg. It was about 
nine o'clock at night. The enemy had received no information 
of the movement, and was not aware of our appi'oach until we 
were within a half mile of her. Seeing the rapid approach of 
the vessels, the Indianola at once knew that it was an attempt 
to capture her, and she immediately rounded her broadside to, 
lashing a coal barge alongside her to parry the blows that 
might be made to run in and sink her. On the vessels nearing, 
fire was opened, and a most terrific and desperate engagement 
ensued, lasting over an hour. Putting on all her steam, the 
Queen of the West made a blow at the Indianola, cleaving the 
barge in two and striking her with such tremendous force that 
the Indianola's machinery was badly injured. Here the action 
on both sides became desperate. The blow of the Queen of 
the West was quickly followed up by the Webb with a terrific 
" butt" at full speed. This finished the work. The Indianola 
was discovered to be in a sinking condition, and was put for 
the shore on the Louisiana side. Seeing this, the Dr. Batey 
was ordered to board her. On bearing alongside her, the In- 
dianola surrendered, and all her ofiicers and crew — number- 
ing in all about one hundred and twenty men — were made 
prisoners. 

These additions to our naval structures on the Mississippi 
were important. We now possessed some power in the inte- 
rior waters of the Confederacy ; to our harbor defences we had 
already added some rams ; and our deficiency in a navy was 
not a laughing-stock to the North as long as our few privateers 
were able to cruise in the Atlantic, and carry dismay to the 
exposed commerce of the Gulf. 

The few ships the North possessed that were the equals in 
point of speed of the Confederate privateers, the Alabama and 
Florida, were, with a single exception, purchased vessels, built 
for the merchant service, and exceedingly liable to be disabled 
in their machinery on account of its being nearly all above the 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 

water-line. Taking, as samples of vessels of tliis class, the 
Yanderbilt, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, the North had 
three ships which, for the purpose they were intcTided, were 
witliout superiors; but the chances were that, if coming under 
the lire of the Alabama or Florida, they would be, by a well- 
directed shot or shell at close quarters, crippled and become an 
easy prize. 

The exploits of our cruisers were sufficient to show the value 
and efficiency of the weapon of privateering, and to excite 
many regrets that our means in this department of warfare 
were so limited. One national steamer alone — the Alabama — 
commanded by officers and manned by a crew who were de- 
barred by the closure of neutral ports from the opportunity 
of causing captured vessels to be condemned in their favor as 
prizes, had sufficed to double the rates of marine insurance in 
Yankee ports, and consigned to forced inaction numbers of 
Yankee vessels, in addition to the direct damage inflicted by 
captures at sea. The Northern papers paid a high tribute to 
the activity and daring of our few privateers in the statement 
that, during one month of winter, British steamers had carried 
from San Francisco to Europe six and a quarter millions of 
gold, whilst during the same time from the same port there 
had arrived in New York only two hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars of the precious metal. In view of such results, 
it would be difficult to over-estimate the effects, if we had 
had a hundred of private armed vessels, and especially if we 
could have secured from neutral Europe the means of dis- 
posing of such prizes as we might make of the commerce of 
the enenay. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 225 



CHAPTER IX. 

An extraordinary Lull in the War.— An Affair with the Enemy on the Black- 
water. — Eaids in the West. — Van Dorn's Captures. — The Meeting of Congress. — 
Character of this Body. — Its Dalness and Servility. — Mr. Foote and the Cabinet. — 
Two Popular Themes of Confidence. — Party Contention in the North. — Successes of 
the Democrats tliere.— Analysis of tlie Party Politics of the North. — The Interest of 
New England in the War.— How the War affected the Northwestern Portions of the 
United States. — Mr. Foote's Eesolutions respecting the Northwestern States. — How 
they were received by the Southern Public— New War Measures at Washington. — 
Lincoln a Dictator. — Prospect of Foreign Interference. — Action of the Emperor Na- 
poleon. — Suffering of the Working Classes in England. — The Delusions of an early 
Peace. — The Tasks before Congress. — Prostrate Condition of the Confederate Fi- 
nances. — President Davis's Blunder. — The Errors of our Financial System. — The 
Wealth of the South. — The Impressment Law of Congress. — Scarcity of Supplies. — 
Inflated Prices. — Speculation and Extortion in the Confederacy. — Three Eemarka 
about these. — The Verdict of History. 

The battle of Murfreesboro' was followed by an extraordi- 
nary lull of the movements of the war. For months the great 
armies in Tennessee and Virginia were to stand agaze of each 
other. The events of tliis period are slight, and easily re- 
counted. 

While the lines of the Rappahannock remained undisturbed, 
our forces on the Blackwater had an engagement of outposts 
on the 31st of January, which was unduly magnified into a 
battle. The success of the aifair was not wholly unimportant, 
as a loss of some hundreds was inflicted upon the enemy before 
our forces fell back to Carrsville, which they were compelled 
to do in the face of superior numbers. 

In Tennessee there was a series of exploits of our cavalry, 
the details of which it is impossible now to recount. The most 
remarkable of these successes was probably that of Yan Dorn, 
who, on the 1st day of March, at Thompson's station, between 
Columbia and Franklin, captured five regiments of the enemy's 
infantry, comprising twenty-two hundred officers and men. 

THE MEETING OF CONGRESS. 

The reader will be interested in turning from the unim- 
portant military events of this period to notice the reassem- 

15 



226 TITE SKCOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

bling of tlie Confederate Congress, and its proceedings in the 
early months of 1863. It is not to be disguised that this body 
fell below the spirit and virtue of the people, and' was remark- 
able for its destitution of talents and ability. Not a single 
speech that has yet been made in it will live. It is true that 
the regular Congress, elected by the people, was an improve- 
ment upon the ignorant and unsavory body known as the Pro- 
visional Congress, which was the creature of conventions, and 
which was disgraced in the character of some of its members; 
among whom were conspicuous corrupt and senile politicians 
from Virginia, who had done all they could to sacrifice and 
degrade their State, who had "toadied" in society, as ■well as 
in politics, to notabilities of New England, and who had taken 
a prominent part in emasculating, and, in fact, annulling the 
Sequestration Law, in order to save the property of relatives 
who had sided with the North against the land that had borne 
them and honored their fathers. 

But the regular Congress, although it had no taint of dis- 
loyalty or Yankee toadyism in it, was a weak body. It had 
made no mark in the history of the government; it was desti- 
tute of originality ; its measures we^e, generally, those which 
were recommended by the Executive, or suggested by the news- 
papers ; it had produced no great financial measure ; it made 
not one stroke of statesmanship ; it uttered not a single fiery 
appeal to the popular heart, such as is customary in revolu- 
tions. It afforded, perhaps, a proof of the frequent assertion 
that our democratic system did not produce great men. The 
most of the little ability it had was occupied with servility to 
the Executive and demagogical displays. 

It is difficult, indeed, for a legislative body to preserve its 
independence, and to resist the tendency of the Executive to 
absorb power in time of war, and this fact was well illustrated 
by the Confederate Congress. One of the greatest political 
scholars of America, Mr. Madison, noticed this danger in the 
political constitution of the country. He said : — " War is in 
fact the true nurse of Executive aggrandizement. In war a 
physical force is to be created, and it is the Executive will 
which is to direct it. In war the public treasures are to be 
unlocked, and it is the Executive hand which is to dispense 
them. In war the honors and emoluments of office are to be 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 227 

multiplied, and it is the Executive patronage under which thev 
are to be enjoyed. It is in war, finally, that laurels are to be 
gatliered, and it is the Executive brow they are to encircle." 

Tliere was but little opposition in Congress to President 
Davis ; but there was some which took a direction to his cabi- 
net, and this opposition was represented by Mr. Foote of Ten- 
nessee — a man of acknowledged ability and many virtues of 
character, who had re-entered upon the political stage after a 
public life, which, however it lacked in the cheap merit of 
j^artisan consistency, had been adorned by displays of wonder- 
ful intellect and great political genius. Mr. Foote was not a 
man to be deterred from speaking the truth ; his quickness to 
resentment and his chivalry, which, though somewhat Quixotic, 
was founded in the most noble and delicate sense of honor, 
made those who would have bullied or silenced a weaker per- 
son stand in awe of him. A man of such temper was not 
likely to stint words in assailing an opponent ; and his sharp 
declamations in Congress, his searching comments, and his 
great powers of sarcasm, used upon such men as Mallorj'^, 
l>enjamin, and Northrop, were the only relief of the dulness of 
the Congress, and the only historical features of its debates. 

Mr. Foote was of a temperament that easily indulged the 
prospects of peace which so generally existed when Congress 
resumed its session in the opening of the new year. At an 
early period of the session resolutions were introduced by him 
inviting the Northwestern States to abstention from the war, 
and expressing a lively and friendly confidence in the negotia- 
tion which the Emperor of the French had just undertaken 
for a qualified mediation in the war in America. Of these two 
popular themes of confidence some explanation is due. 

Since the commencement of the war, there had been some 
few people in the jSTorth who had opposed its prosecution, and 
many more who were averse to its policy and measures. The 
removal of McClellan added a bitter feud to animosities al- 
ready existing, and the enunciation at Washington of the 
policy of emancipation contributed to the party divisions in 
the North. The result of the Northern elections in the fall of 
1SH2 was apparently an emphatic and impressive popular ver- 
dict against the Abolition party, which had ruled the govern- 
ment at Washington. In the face of a majority of 107,000 



228 THK SKCOKD YEAK OF THE WAK. 

against them in 1860, the Democrats had carried the State of 
New York. The metropolis of New York was carried by a 
Democratic majority of 31,000 — a change of 48,000 votes in 
twelve months. Within the great States of New Jersey, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the results of 
the popular elections were a more or less emphatic avowal of 
opposition to the schemes of those who were using the power of 
the government to advance and fasten upon the country their 
political vagaries, regardless of right and written constitutions. 
These six States contained a majority of the free State popula- 
tion. They furnished the majority of the troops in the field 
against us. They had two-thirds of the wealth of the North. 
It was clear that the Washington government needed men 
and money to carry on the war, and to have a united North 
the Democratic States must furnish more than half of either. 

Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the 
people of the South should have convinced themselves that an 
important reaction was taking place in public sentiment in the 
North, and that it naturally tended to a negotiation for peace. 
But in one-half of this opinion they were mistaken. There 
w^s a reaction in the North ; but it had scarcely any thing 
more than a partisan significance. It was a struggle between 
those in power and those out of power ; the issues of which 
were feigned and exaggerated ; in which much that was said 
against the war was not really meant ; and at the close of 
which the passions it had excited suddenly evaporated. Mr. 
Van Buren, who, in the Democratic campaign in New York, 
had made speeches quite warm enough for Southern latitudes, 
was after the elections an advocate of the war and a mocker 
of " the rebellion." Many more followed the distinguished 
lead of the demagogue in raising a clamor about the admin- 
istration merely for party purposes, and having served those 
purposes, in returning to the advocacy of a war, in which, by 
giving false encouragement to the North, and holding out 
hopes of "reconstruction," they were enemies more fatal to 
the South than the blind and revengeful radicals who sought 
her destruction. 

It is probable that the movements in the Northwestern 
States against the administration were better founded in prin- 
ciple than those that had taken place in • other parts of the 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 229 

North, and that they denoted a sincere aversion to the war. 
The opposition of Mr. Yallandigham, who assumed to repre- 
sent this sentiment of the Northwest in Congress, was appa- 
rently superior to the demagogical clamor of such men as 
Van Buren and Seymour of New York. The sentiment was 
undoubtedly sincere, whatever the merits or demerits of its 
officious representative.* 

The pecuniary interest of New England in the war was 
plain enough. The demand for the products of her industry 
for objects of this war was greater than at any former period 
in the history of this continent. Her workshops were in full 
blast. Ships and locomotives were to be built, the weapons of 
war were to be created, and the ironmongers of New England 
found a vast and profitable employment in answering these 
demands. The spinners and weavers and blanket-makers and 
artisans were kept busy at their avocations, and everywhere in 
these avaricious districts of the North arose the hum of profit- 
able industry. 

But while New England rioted in the gains of the war, it 
was stark ruin to the agricultural States of the Northwest. 

* There is unavoidable reason for doubting the virtue of Mr. Vallandigham. 
It is difficult to discover the motives of the Yankee. The people of the South 
have reason to know, from former political association with this faithless race, 
how indirect are their courses and how affected their zeal. What appears to be 
the inspiration of virtue, may be the deep design of a selfish ambition ; singu- 
larity of opinion may prove nothing but an itch for a cheap reputation ; and 
an extraordinary display of one's self before the public may, at best, be but 
the ingenious trick of a charlatan. 

When Mr. Vallandigham was exiled for obstructing enlistments in the 
North, he had an opportunity, in his travels in the Confederacy, of learning the 
sentiments of the people, and of these he gave the follovsdng report in an ad- 
dress to the people of Ohio : 

" TraveUrng a thousand miles and more through nearly one-half of the Con- 
federate States, and sojourning for a time at vridely different points, I met not 
one man, woman, or child, who were not resolved to perish rather than yield 
to the pressure of arms, even in the most desperate extremity. 

Neither, however, let me add, did I meet any one, what- 
ever his opinion or station, political or private, who did not declare his readi- 
ness, ichen the war shall have ceased and invading armies he witTidrawn, to con- 
sider and discuss tJie question of reunion,. And who shall doubt the issue of 
the argument ?" 

A man who can be guilty of such a deliberate falsehood, and one evidently 
planned to catch votes for his political hobby, can certainly make no preten- 
Bion to heroism, and may even have his claims to honesty justly doubted. 



230 THE SECOND YEAR OF TUE WAR. 

Tlie people there were (ii^rowinuj poorer every day in the midst 
of plenty. The great Southern market which their resources 
supplied had been closed, and there was no new demand for 
their agricultural products. The corn, wheat, and bacon of 
Indiana and Illinois were scarcely worth the cost of transporta- 
tion to the Atlantic coast. The railroads connecting the West 
with the seaboard were princii^ally in the hands of the Eastern 
capitalists, and the rates of freight were so enormous, that the 
surplus agricultural product of the Northwestern farmers was 
in manj^ instances left to rot on their lands, or be used as fuel. 

This violent contrast between New England and the West, 
in the effects on each of the \var, was developed in a formida- 
ble opposition of opinion. Indications of this opposition had 
already been given in the press of St. Louis and Chicago. 
The jealousy of the agricultural States of the North was being 
inflamed by the unequal profits of the war and the selfish 
policy of the Abolitionists ; and the opinion plainly grew in 
the press and public discussion that the West liad not a single 
interest in the war beyond securing the free navigation of the 
Mississippi. 

How far statesmanship in the South might have profited by 
this disaflfection in the Northwestern States is left a matter of 
conjecture and controversy. Tlie eflforts made in the Confed- 
erate Congress by Mr. Foote in this direction, tendering to 
these States a complete assurance of the free navigation of the 
Mississippi, and proposing an alliance with the Confederacy, 
without political complications, met with feeble encourage- 
ment in that body, a doubtful response from the army, and 
divided comments of the press. AVhatever may have been the 
merits of Mr. Foote's proposition, it admitted of no delay. 
While our government treated it with hesitation, the authori- 
ties at Washington were making anxious and immense prepar- 
ations to overcome the disaflfection of tlie people and to cany 
on the war ; and the means to do this were supplied by an act 
suspending the haheas coiyus, and making Lincoln absolute 
dictator ; by new measures of finance, and by a conscription 
law which called into the field three million of men. 

The prospect of a termination of the war by any action of 
foreign governments, was more distant than that aflbrded by 
party elections and movements in the North. This action was 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 231 

limited to the French Emperor alone ; it had not progressed 
further at this time than an invitation to England and Russia, 
made in November, 1862, to unite in proposing an armistice to 
the Washington government, which should merely give an op- 
portunity for discussion, without affecting in any way the pres- 
ent military interests and positions of the belligerents. Mild 
as the French proposition was, it was rejected bj^ Russia and 
England. Lord Russell replied fur his government that the 
time was not ripe for such mediation as was proposed, and that 
it would be better to watch carefully the progress of opinion in 
America, and wait for some change in which the three Courts 
could offer their friendly counsel with a prospect of success. 
The British statesman had nothing to plead for the mass of 
suffering humanity in his own land, which the war he was im- 
plored to stop or to ameliorate had occasioned ; for humanity 
was easilj'- outweighed by political reasons, which are as often 
worked out through the blood and tears of its own people as 
throuD-h the misfortunes of others.* 



* In a letter of Mr. Cobden, published during the early winter in an English, 
journal, he declares that in travelling from Manchester to Blackburn, over a 
country covered with snow, he found hundreds of wasted victims of cold and 
want. He says : "Hitherto the distressed population have felt little more than 
the want of food. Now and from henceforth blankets, fuel, and clothing are 
as essential to health as bread and soup." He argues that it is useless to save 
people from dying by hunger, only that they may perish by fever, or by the 
exhaustion consequent on cold and insufficient food. 

The early advent of winter enhanced the misery of the suffering. In many 
districts tliere was no fuel, no means of warmth except the scanty allowance 
of coals distributed in some places by the Relief Committees. Everywhere 
the people had too little to eat, aiid that little was not sufficiently nutritious ; 
everywhere they suffered from cold yet more cruelly than from hunger ; and 
nowhere was there a fund suflBcient to provide for their necessities. 

The humane shuddered with horror as they read the frightful accounts of 
the suffering of the poor published day after day in the London Times. A 
letter from Stockport described the people there as " suffering all the horrors 
of a protracted famine." The same writer says : " One poor man upon whom 
I called this morning, having stripped the walls of every little ornament to 
purchase bread for his wife and three little children, took the fender and sold 
it for a shilling." The cases of distress reported in the newspapers merely 
represented the average condition of the unemployed. An aged couple, we are 
told, had saved thirty-six pounds ; this is gone, their furniture is pawned, the 
husband is in the infirmary, and the old woman living on a charitable dole of 
half a crown per we<;^, with some soup and bread. In another case five per- 
sons, among them a sick woman, are living on seven shillings a week. One 



232 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 

But while the prospect of an early j)eace dissolved before 
the eyes of Congress, a subject of instant and practical impor- 
tance was sorely pressing upon its attention. The vast volume 
of Treasury notes issued by the government had occasioned a 
rapid depreciation of our currency, inflated prices, and pro- 
duced serious financial diflSculties. So crude and short-sighted 
had been our notions of public finance, that at the meeting of 
Congress in August, 1862, we find President Davis recom- 
mending to it that the public creditors should not be paid in 
bonds, but that unlimited issues of currency should be made. 
He then said in his written message to Congress : " The legis- 
lation of the last session provided for the purchase of supplies 
with the bonds of the government, but the preference of the 
people for Treasury notes has been so marked, that legislation 
is recommended to authorize an increase in the issue of Treas- 
ury notes, which the public service seems to require. No 
grave inconvenience need be apprehended from this increased 
issue, as the provision of law by which these notes are con- 
vertible into eight per cent, bonds, forms an efiicient and per- 



femily of six — coiislJcred to be particularly well off— have seven sMUings, an 
allowance of coa'& anl some soup and bread from their former employer. An- 
other family of six or seven had lived for twelve months on six sliillings a 
week. 

The University of Oxford had subscribed about £4000 towards the relief of 
the suffering- people. A meeting was held to promote further action, at which 
the following facts were stated by the Hon. E. L. Stanley of Baliol College : 

" They received from America before the blockade five-sixths of their cotton ; 
five days of the week they worked on what came from America ; only one day 
on what came from other coimtries. That supply was now practically at an 
end. The few ships that ran the blockade made no noticeable difference, and 
even if other countries should double their production, we should be only sup- 
plied with material for one-third of our usual work. The country, then, was 
losing two-thirds of the industry engaged in this trade, and two-thii-ds of the 
capital were making no return. And this trade was such a main part of the 
industry of the nation, that what affected it must affect all. A Parliamentary 
return gave the persons actually engaged in the mills at near 500,000. If they 
reckoned their families, the traders who supplied them, the colUers, machinists, 
builders, and shipping interest engaged in supplying cotton, they would proba- 
bly not overstate the number of dependents on cotton only at 3,000,000. These 
people were now deprived of fully two-thirds of their subsistence." 

Such is a picture of the " Cotton Famine" in England. The most remark- 
able circumstance in connection with it was the profound indifference of the 
English Ministry to the distress of near a million of those for whose lives and 
happiness they were responsible. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 233 

manent safeguard against any serious depreciation of the 
currency. 

The consequences of this ignorant and wild financial policy 
were, that, by the next meeting of Congress, the volume of 
currency was at least four times what were the wants of the 
community for a circulating medium; that prices were inflated 
more than an equal degree, for want of confidence in the paper 
of the government had kindled the fever of speculation ; that 
the public credit, abused by culpable ignorance and obstinate 
empiricism, had fallen to an ebb that alarmed the country 
more than any reverse in the military fortunes of the war; 
and that the government was forced to the doubtful and not 
very honorable expedient of attempting to restore its currency 
by a system of demonetizing its own issues. 

The redundancy of the currency was the chief cause of its 
depreciation. The amount of money in circulation in the 
South, in time of peace, was $80,000,000. In January, 1863, 
it was $300,000,000. In September, 1861, Confederate notes 
were about equal to specie ; before December, specie was at 
20 per cent, premium; before April, 1862, it was at 50 per 
cent. ; before last September, at 100 ; before Deceuiber, at 
225 ; before February, at 280 ; and in the spring of 1863, at the 
frightful premium of 400 per cent., while bank bills were worth 
190 cents on the dollar. 

Since the foundation of the Confederate government, its 
finances had been grossly mismanaged. The Treasury note 
was a naked promise to pay ; there was no fund pledged for 
its redemption ; and the prospect of the rigid liquidation of the 
enormous debt that this class of paper represented six months 
after the restoration of peace, depended solely on the specula- 
tive prospect of a foreign loan to the amount of many hun- 
dred millions of dollars. At the commencement of the war 
the South had the elements for the structure of one of the 
most successful and elastic schemes of finance that the world 
had seen. The planters were anxious to effect the sales of 
their cotton and tobacco to the Confederate States ; these would 
have supplied the government with a basis of credit which 
would have been extended as the prices of these staples 
advanced, and therefore kept progress with the war ; but this 
scheme was opposed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. 



23i THE SKCOXD VKAli OF TIJE WAK. 

Memminger, and detcatud by lu6 inlliience. He was unfortu- 
nately sustained by an Executive grossly incompetent on sub- 
jects of finance ; which was ignorant of the principle of political 
ecouomj^ that there are no royal ways of making money 
out of nothing, that governments must raise money in the 
legitimate way of taxation, loans, &c. ; which relied upon the 
manufacture of a revenue out of naked paper obligations; and 
wliich actually went to the foolish extremity of recommending 
that tlie creditors of the government should take their payment 
in currency rather than in the public stocks. It appears, 
indeed, that our government was ignorant of the most primitive 
truths of finance, and that it had not read in history or iu 
reason the lesson of \X\q fatal connection hetween currency and 
revenue. 

It is true that some appreciation of this lesson was at last 
shown by Congress in its new tax-bill ; for the theory of that 
bill was, by an enormous weight of taxation, to pay, at least 
measurably, the expenses of the war as it progressed, and to 
risk no further connection between the two distinct financial 
concerns of revenue and currency. But on the other hand, its 
system of forcing the funding of treasury notes by arbitrary 
reductions of interest, beti-ayed the ignorance of Congress ; left 
incomplete and embarrassed a system of finance which might 
have otherwise been carried to a point of extraordinary suc- 
cess ; and aimed a direct blow at the integrity of the public 
credit. 

It was easy to see that slight differences in rates of interest 
.would afford but feeble inducements for the conversion of the 
treasury note into the bond, when money was easily doubled 
or quadrupled in the active commercial speculations peculiar 
to the condition of the South in the war, unless the bond could 
be readily used as a medium of exchanges ; and in that event 
there would only be a change in the form of the paper, the 
volume of the currency would be undiminished, and its depre- 
ciation therefore remain the same. But while the analysis of 
this system of funding shows it to be a transparent juggle, it 
was by no means certain that it did not contain the germ of 
many positive evils. The right of a government to make ar- 
bitrary changes in any of the terms of its obligations which 
affect their value, is questionable, and the commercial honor 



THE SECOXD YEAli OF THE WAK, 235 

of such an expedient is more tlian doubtful. While it intro- 
duced the shadow of repudiation only to weak and suspicious 
minds, it is yet to be regretted that even whispers on that sub- 
ject were ever heard in the South. But as far as our foreign 
credit was concerned, there is no doubt that the empirical action 
of Congress, which involved, even to the smallest extent, the in- 
tegrity of our obligations, was of serious prejudice. It might 
indeed have been logically and certainly expected that the gen- 
eral confidence in Europe in the military fortunes of the Con- 
federacy would have been productive of unlimited credit to us 
abroad, had the faith of Europe in the management of our 
finances equalled that in the success of our arms.* 

On the subject of the financial management of the new Con- 
federacy, one general reflection at least admits of no doubt. 
The attentive reader will recognize as the most remarkable cir- 
cumstance of this war, that within two years the public finances 
of the Confederacy should have been brought to the brink of 
ruin. The sympathy of the people with the revolution was 
unbounded. The disposition of all classes towards the govern- 
ment was one of extreme generosity. The property of the 
States of the Confederacy was greater per capita than that of 
any community on the globe. No country in the world had 
export values comparable in magnitude to those of the South, 
and the exports of all other countries were produced at a cost 
in labor four times that of ours. In such circumstances it is 
highly improbable that tiie government of the Confederacy 

* It is true that a small foreign loan has been negotiated in Europe ; but it 
affords no test of our credit in present circumstances, as it was made on a pledge 
of cotton. It shows, however, what might have been done, if the cotton had 
been purchased by the government and mobilized, for the whole crop might 
have been secured in 1861 at seven cents a poiind. But against this scheme 
the government had set its face as flint, and when it did become distrustful of 
its former conclusion, it had only the nerve to make a very limited experiment 
in the application of tliis staple to support a credit almost hopelessly abused by 
paper issues. 

It was estimated that there remained in the States of the Confederacy at this 
time 3,500,000 bales of cotton, which could be exported in the event of the ports 
being opened to trade. This estimate is made after deducting from the crops 
of 1861 and 1863 the quantity of cotton wliich had run the blockade, the amount 
destroyed to prevent capture by the Yankees, and the quantity used for home 
consumption, which, since the commencement of the war, had enormously in- 
creased, being now fully 500,000 bales per annum. 



236 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

could, within two years, have wrecked its credit with its own 
people, unless by the most ignorant trifling with great ques- 
tions and tlie childish management of its treasury. 

At an early period of the war it had been our boast that we 
had spent only fifteen millions, while the Yankees had spent 
ten or fifteen times that amount. But we find that the debt of 
the general government of the Confederate States in January 
last was $556,000,000, with the prospect, at the current rate 
of expenditure, that it would reach nine hundred millions by 
the close of the fiscal year on the first of July ; and it is curi- 
ous to observe what miscalculations were made of public debt 
both in the North and in the South, The newspapers of the 
two nations flourished the estimates of their debt in enume- 
rations only of the obligations of the general government of 
each, and made complacent comparisons of these sums with 
the debts of European governments. But according to the 
estimates of Europe, and the calculations of plain reason, the 
true volume of the debt of each of these nations was repre- 
,sented not only by what was owed by the Richmond and 
Washington governments, but by the aggregate amount of the 
indebtedness of the several States composing each confedera- 
tion. Here could be the only true and just measure of the 
national debt of either the South or the North, in comparison 
with the debts of other governments, to which the system of 
the division of powers between a central authority and States 
was unknown. The debt of each member of the Southern 
Confederacy, as well as that of a central authority, was a bur- 
den on the nation, for the problem of its payment was at last 
to resolve itself .into a tax upon the people. It is only by a 
calculation of these aggregates that just comparisons could be 
made between our financial condition and that of the North or 
European nations ; and although such comparisons on our side 
were to the disadvantage of our enemies, yet they exhibited 
facts which were unpleasant enough to ourselves. 

The law of impressment enacted by Congress afi'ords the 
evidence of the scarcity of supplies in the South. The ques- 
tion of food with that of finance divided the attention of the 
government. The grain-growing and provision-raising coun- 
try, which stretches from the Potomac at Harper's Ferry to 
Memphis on the Tennessee, was now exhausted of it? provi- 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 237 

sions. Much of the productive portions of North Carolina 
and the Gulf States had been also exhausted. The great and 
true source of meat supply, the State of Kentucky, which 
contained more hogs and cattle, two or three to one, than were 
left in all the South besides, had fallen into the undivided pos- 
session of the Yankees. The general scarcity of all sorts of 
supplies was attested by the high prices of every thing eatable. 
The advance in prices induced by the scarcity of supplies, was 
still further enormously enhanced by the greedy commercial 
speculation which distressed the South, and threw a shadow of 
dishonor upon the moral aspects of our struggle. 

It is a subject of extraordinary remark, that the struggle 
for our independence should have been attended by the ignoble 
circumstances of a commercial speculation in the South unpar- 
alleled in its heartlessness and selfish greed. "War invariably 
excites avarice and speculation ; it is the active promoter of 
rapid fortunes and corrupt commercial practices. But it is a 
matter of surprise that more than an ordinary share of this 
bad, avaricious spirit should have been developed in the South 
during a war which involved the national existence, which pre- 
sented so many contrasts of heroic self-sacrifice, and which 
was adorned with exhibitions of moral coui-age and devotion 
such as the world had seldom seen. 

But of this social and moral contradiction in our war for 
independence, some explanation may be offered. It may, in 
some measure, be found in three facts : first, that a distrust of 
the national currency prevailed in the country ; secondly, that 
the initiative (for it is the first steps in speculation which are 
more responsible) was made by Jews and foreign adventurers 
who everywhere infested the Confederacy ; "and thirdly, that 
the fever of gain was greatly inflamed by the corruptions of 
the government, the abuse of its pecuniary patronage, and a 
system of secret contract, in which ofiicials who were dishon- 
est shared the profits, and those who were incompetent were 
easily overreached in the negotiation. The only serious blot 
which defaced our struggle for independence was, at least to 
some extent, the creature of circumstances ; and that is lost to 
the eye of humane and enlightened history in the lustre of 
arms and virtues shed on the South in the most sublime trials 
of the war. 



238 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER X. 

Character of Military Events of the Spring of 1863. — Repulse of the Enemy at Fort 
McAllister.— Thk Siege of Vioksburg. — The Yazoo Pass Expedition. — Confederate 
Success at Fort Pcmbertnn. — The Enemy's Canals, or " Cut-offs." — Their Failure. — 
BoMBART)MENT OF FoRT HuDSON. — DestructioH of "The Mississippi." — A Funeral 
Pyre. — Happy Effects of our Victory. — A Review of the line of inland Hostilities. — 
Hooker's hesitation on the Rappahannock. — The Assignment of Confederate com- 
mands west of the Mississippi. — The Affair of Kelly's Ford. — Death of Major Pel- 
ham. — Naval Attack on Charleston. — Destruction of "The Keokuk." — Scenery of 
the Bombardment. — Extent of the Confederate Success. — Events in Tennessee and 
Kentucky. — Pegram's Reverse. — The Situation of Hostilities at the close of April, 1862. 

Although bnt little is to be found of a decisive character in 
tlie military events of the Spring of 1862, there was yet a series 
of interesting occurrences which went far to prove the ineffi- 
ciency of the most boasted naval structures of the enemy, and 
the progress we had made in defensive works on the lines of 
our harbors and the banks of our rivers. 

The first of these may be mentioned as the repulse of the 
enemy at Fort McAllister on the 3d of March. This fort is on 
the outer line of the defences of Savannah. Off the Georgia 
coast, and eighteen miles to the southward of the Savannah 
river, is Ossabaw sound. Into this sound flows the Ogechee 
river, a stream navigable some distance up — some thirty miles 
— to vessels of a larger class. On the Ogechee river, four 
miles above the sound, is situate Fort McAllister. The fort 
stands on the mainland, directly on the river bank, and com- 
mands the river for a mile and a half or two miles. 

The attack of the enemy on this fort was made with three 
iron-clads and two mortar-boats. The result of a whole day's 
bombardment was, that one gun was dismounted, but the fort 
remained uninjured, and no loss of life was sustained on our 
side. The iron-clad Montauk was struck with solid shctt 
seventy-one times, and was lifted clear out of the water by 
the explosion of a torpedo under her bow, but the Yankees 
stated that she was not seriously injured. Indeed, they de- 
clared that the whole affair was nothing more than an experi- 
mentum crucis^ to ascertain the power of their new iron-clads 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 239 

to resist cannon-shot, and that the result of the encounter was 
all that they had hoped. If the enemy was pleased with the 
result, the Confederates had certainly no reason to dispute his 
satisfaction, as long as they had the solid gratification of hav- 
ing resisted a bombardment of eight hours, without injury to 
their works or the loss of a single life. 

While the enemy menaced the seaboard, he had found an- 
other theatre for his naval power on the waters of the Missis- 
sippi river. His operations there were even more important 
than those on our sea lines, for they were an essential part of 
the campaign in the West. In fact, Vieksburg was for a long 
time the point on which depended the movements in Tennes- 
see and the resolution of the great crisis in the West. 

THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG. 

The siege of Yicksburg furnishes a most remarkable in- 
stance of the industry and physical perseverance of the Yan- 
kees. Ever since December, 1862, they had been busily en- 
gaged in the attempt to circumvent our defences, even to the 
extremity of forcing our internal navigation of swampy la- 
goons and obstructed creeks for a distance of four hundred and 
fifty miles. 

The enemy's operations in other directions kept him quiet 
directly in front of Yicksburg, but his purpose was all the 
same — the capture and occupation of the place. The enemy 
had three distinct projects for compassing the capture of 
Yicksburg : First, the canal across the is,thmus opposite the 
city ; secondly, the project of getting through the Yazoo 
Pass ; third, the Lake Providence canal project. It had been 
all the time the principal aim of the Yankees to get in the 
rear or below Yicksburg. Their present plan, and one on 
which they were now at work, was to get through the Yazoo 
Pass, in the hope of getting in our rear and cutting off our 
supplies. Their idea was to flank Vieksburg, capture Jack- 
son, cut off Grenada, and destroy all possibility of our ob- 
taining supplies throughout that rich country, by this one bold 
stroke. 

The route mapped out by the Yankees commences near 
Helena, Arkansas, where the Yazoo Pass connects the Mis- 



240 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 

sissippi with the Coldwater river, through Moon lake. The 
distance from the Mississippi to the Coldwater, by this pass, is 
about twenty miles — a very narrow and tortuous channel, only 
navigable when the Mississippi is quite high and its waters 
overflow the low lands of this region. The Coldwater river 
empties into the Tallahatchie, and the Tayahatchie into the 
Yazoo. The whole distance by this route from the Mississippi 
to the mouth of the Yazoo, in the neighborhood of Vicks- 
burg, is some five hundred miles, and over one-half of it, or 
to the mouth of the Tallahatchie, it is easily obstructed. The 
Yankees met with no obstruction on their ascent of the Talla- 
hatchie, except the overgroM^th and tortuousness of the stream 
— which prevented the gunboats, in some instances, from mak- 
ing more than three and four miles a day — until reaching the 
mouth of the Tallahatchie, or its neighborhood, where they 
encountered the batteries known as Fort Pemberton, which 
stood as the barrier against the entrance of their fleet into the 
Yazoo river, formed by the confluence of the Tallahatchie and 
Yalabusha rivers. 

This fort was nothing more than an indented line of earth- 
works, composed of cotton bales and mud, thrown up on the 
neck of a bend of the Tallahatchie river, where the river was 
only two hundred and fifty yards wide. The site was selected 
by Major-gen. Loring as the best position on the Yazoo or 
Tallahatchie river. 

It was here, on the 13th of March, that the Yazoo expedi- 
tion was intercepted and driven back by our batteries, which 
achieved a splendid victory over the Yankee gunboats. The 
Yalabusha river unites with the Tallahatchie in the bend, 
forming the Yazoo, so that the right flank of our works rest- 
ed upon the Tallahatchie, and the left upon the Yazoo, both, 
however, being really the same stream. The left flank was 
opposite Greenwood, which is situated on the east side of 
the Yazoo. The Tallahatchie, under the guns of the fort, was 
obstructed by an immense raft, behind which the Star of the 
West was sunk in the channel. The intervention of the point 
above the bend masked the whole of our line except the left, 
upon which, consequently, the fire of the enemy's boats was 
directed. The fire was terrific, uninterrupted for four hours, 
from ten to sixteen heavy calibre guns on gunboats, two heavy 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 241 

guns on land and one mortar. Yet the line of our batteries 
was maintained. The loss of the enemy in this unsuceessfnl 
attack is not known ; but his gunboats and batteries were con- 
stantly hit, and large quantities of burning cotton were struck 
from them. 

The defeat of the enemy at Fort Pemberton prevented his 
fleet from passing by to the lower Yazoo. But this was not 
the only canal project of the Yankees. One at Lake Provi- 
dence, was intended to alFord a passage from the Mississippi 
to the head-waters of the Red river, by which they might com- 
mand a vast scope of country and immense resources. This 
canal, which it was said was to change the bed of the Missis- 
sippi and turn its mighty current in the Atchafalaya river on 
its way to the Gulf of Mexico, was also a failure. The canal 
had been opened, and an enormous extent of country sub- 
merged and ruined, but it was found that no gunboais or 
transports could ever reach the Mississippi below Yicksburg 
by that route. Snags and drift choked up the tortuous 
streams formed by the flood from the cut levees, and even if 
navigation had been possible, the channel might have been 
rendered impassable in a hundred places by a score of active 
guerrillas. 

In the mean time, there was every reason to believe that the 
Yankees M^ere content to abandon the project of cutting a 
ditch through the mainland opposite Yicksburg, by which it 
was hoped to force the .current of the Mississippi into an un- 
accustomed course, through which to pass their vessels without 
going within range of our batteries. 

It was thus that the enemy was apparently brought to the 
point of necessity of either attacking our fortifications at Sny- 
der's Blufi" on- the Yazoo, or our batteries in front of the city. 
These were the only two points left against which he could 
operate, and they were the same which he had been trying to 
avoid for the last three months. When he first arrived, these 
were the only points susceptible of assault, but wishing to 
flank them, he had wasted three months' time, lost a number of 
gunboats and transports, and many thousands of his troops. 

An attack directly in front of the city plainly threatened 
the most serious disaster to the enemy. From a point of the 
river above, where high land begins, there is a high and pre- 

16 



242 THK PF.COND YKAR OF THK WAK. 

cipitous bluff, which would not afford an}' landing-place for the 
troops — only about two acres of ground are to be found where 
a landing could be effected, and upon this a formidable battery 
was ready to receive them, and in the rear there were number- 
less other batteries to protect it. The whole bluff, extending 
a distance of two miles, was also frowning with guns, all of 
which Avould bear npon an enemy in the river. 

Tlie expedition of the enemy on the Tallahatchie, which 
met such unexpected and disgraceful defeat from the guns of 
a hastil}' made fort, is memorable as another of those Yankee 
raids which, nnable to accomplish military results, was left to 
gratify itself with the plunder of citizens and the cowardly 
atrocities of marauders. From the barbarity of the Yankee, 
Mississippi was a distinguished sufferer as well as Virginia. 
Two-thirds of Sherman's army was composed of new troops 
from Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and they had come 
down the Mississippi with the intention of burning and de- 
stroying every thing they could lay their hands on. The whole 
line of their march was one continued scene of destruction. 
Private dwellings were burned, women and children driven out 
of their houses, and even the clothes stripped from their backs, 
to say nothing of acts committed by the soldiery which might 
make the blackest-hearted libertine blush for shame.* 

Another attempt of the enemy to force our strongholds on 
the Mississippi, which we have to relate at this time, was made 



* The following is a private confession taken from the letter of a Yankee 
officer, attached to Shennan's command : " I have alvi^ays blamed Union gen- 
erals for guarding rebel property, but I now see the necessity of it. Three weeks 
of such unbridled license would ruin our army. I tell you the truth when I 
say we are about as mean a mob as ever walked the face of the earth. It is 
perfectly frightful. If I lived in this country, I never would lay down my arms 
while a ' Yankee' remained on the soil. I do not blame Southerners for being 
secessionists now. I could relate many things that wovdd be laughable if they 
were not so horribly disgraceful. For instance, imagine two privates in an 
elegant carriage, belonging to some wealthy Southern nabob, with a splendid 
span of horses riding in state along the road we are marching over, with a 
negro coachman holding the reins in all the style of an English nobleman, 
and then two small drummer-boys going it at a two-forty pace, in an elegant 
buggy, with a fast horse, and the buggy loaded with a strange medley of house- 
hold furniture and kitchen utensils, from an elegant parlor mirror to a pair of 
fire-dogs, all of which they have ' cramped' from some fine house, which, from 
sheer wantonness, they had rifled and destroyed." 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 243 

on Port Hudson on the 15th of March. "We have seen how 
fatal, so far, had been the enemy's attempts to run our batter- 
ies and to get to the sonth of Vicksburg. His first attempt 
was with the Queen of the West, his second with the Indianola ; 
but though successful in these two cases in running our batter- 
ies, the boats were soon captured by our men, and the enemy 
completely foiled in his design. It was now proposed that the 
enemy's fleet should attack Port Hudson and attempt to force 
a passage up the river. 

THE BOMBARDMENT OF PORT HUDSON. 

Port Hudson is a strongly fortified position on the lower 
Mississippi — about sixteen miles above Baton Rouge and 
three hundred below Yicksbnrg. It is situated on a bend in 
the river, and -its great strength as a place of defence against 
a fleet consists in the height of its clifls and the peculiar for- 
mation of the river at that place. The clififs are very high, 
and also very steep — in fact, almost perpendicular. The river, 
jnst at the bend opposite the town, suddenly narrows, so that 
the rapid current strikes against the west bank, and then 
sweeps through a narrow channel just at the base of the cliff. 
Our batteries were located on a bluff at the elbow of the river, 
and commanded a range of three miles above and below, com- 
pelling any vessel which might attempt the passage to run the 
gauntlet of a plunging fire. 

Six vessels were to comprise the enemy's expedition, divided 
into two divisions. The vanguard was to consist of the flag- 
ship Hartford, a first-class steam sloop-of-war, carrying twenty- 
six eight and nine inch Paixhan guns, leading, followed by the 
Monongahela, a second-class steam sloop, mounting sixteen 
heavy guns, and the Richmond, a first-class steam sloop of 
twenty-six guns, principally eight and nine inch columbiads. 
The rear-guard was composed of the first-class steam sloop 
Mississippi, twenty-two guns, eight and nine inch, and the 
gunboats Kinnes and Genesee, each carrying three columbiads 
and two rifled thirty-two pounders. The Mississippi was a 
side- wheel steamer. All the others were screw propellers. 
The vanguard was commanded by Admiral Farragut in per- 
son, on board the Hartford. The rear was under command of 



244 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Captain Melanctlion Smith, flying liis pennant from tlie Missis- 
sippi. They were to proceed up the stream in a single file, the 
stern of the one following close upon the stern of another, and 
keeping their fires and lights well concealed until they should 
be discovered by our batteries, when they were to get by the 
best they could, fighting their passage ; and once above, they 
believed they would have the stronghold on both sides, their 
guns covering every part of the encampment. 

Shortly before midnight, the boats having formed the line of 
battle as described, their decks cleared for action, and the men 
at their quarters, the Hartford led the way and the others 
promptly followed her direction. At the moment of their dis- 
covery, a rocket was to be sent up from the admiral's flag-ship, 
as the signal for the Essex and her accompanying mortar-boats 
to commence work. 

Although there had been no indications of such a determined 
night attack by Farragut, the usual vigilant precautions were 
in force at our batteries. Every gun was ready for action, 
and around each piece slept a detachment of gunners. So 
dark was the night, however, and so slightly had the armed 
craft nosed their way up, that the flag-ship had passed some of 
our guns, and all the fleet were within easy range before their 
approach was known. Almost at the same time a rocket from 
our signal corps, and the discharge of muskets by an infantry 
picket, aroused our line. Quick as a flash, while the falling 
fire of our alarm rocket was yet unextinguished, there shot 
up into the sky, from the Hartford's deck, another. Then came 
one grand, long, deafening roar, that rent the atmosphere with 
its mighty thunder, shaking both land and water, and causing 
the high battery-crowned clifl's to tremble, as if with fear and 
wonder. 

The darkness of the night gave extraordinary sublimity to 
the scene of bombardment. The sheets of flame that poured 
from the sides of the sloops at each discharge lit up nearly the 
whole stretch of river, placing each craft in strong relief against 
the black sky. On the long line of bluff, the batteries, but a 
moment before silent as the church-yard, now resounded to the 
hurrying tread of men, while the quick, stern tones of command 
were heard above the awful din, and the furtively glancing 
rays of light from the battle-lanterns revealed the huge instru- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 245 

ments of death and destruction, and showed the half-covered 
way to magazines. 

Minute after minute passed away, and the fleet kept its un- 
checked course up the stream. Tlie feeling of its oflacers was 
one of amazement at the silence of the batteries. The question 
was seriously propounded, had not the Confederates deserted 
them ? But only too soon did the enemy discover that we 
were but waiting to bring their whole fleet irretrievablj'^ under 
our guns before we went to work. 

For fifteen minutes had they plied at their monster cannon, 
and now they were commencing to relax from sheer vexation, 
when a flash of light from the crest of a cliff lights the way 
for a shell to go plunging through the Hartford's deck. This 
was the monitor, and at once the enemy saw a cordon of vivid 
liofht as loner as their own. 

Now commenced the battle in all its terrible earnestness. 
Outnumbered in guns and outweighed in metal, our volleys 
were as quickly repeated, and the majority of them unerring in 
their aim. As soon as the enemy thus discovered our batter- 
ies, they opened on them with grape and canister, which was 
more accurately thrown than their shells, and threw clouds of 
dirt upon the guns and gunners ; the shells went over them in 
every conceivable direction except the right one. 

The Hartford, a very fast ship, now made straight up the 
river, making her best time, and trying to divert the aim of 
our gunners by her incessant and deafening broadsides. She 
soon outstripped the balance of the fleet. Shot after shot struck 
her, riddling her through and through, but still she kept on 
her way. 

Every craft now looking out for itself and bound to make 
its very best time to get by, the fleet lost its orderly line of 
battle, and got so mixed up, it was difficult, and sometimes im- 
possible to distinguish one from another. It was speedily ap- 
parent to the enemy that the fire was a great deal hotter and 
more destructive than had been expected, and the captains of 
the two gunboats and of the Monongahela, doubtless resolved 
quickly that it would be madness to attempt to run such a ter- 
rific gauntlet of iron hail. "Whether the commanders of the 
Richmond and Mississippi had already arrived at the same de- 
termination, or came to it soon after, is not known ; but they 



246 THK SECOND YEAR OF THK WAR. 

all, except the Hartford, undertook to put about and return 
the way they came. 

For this purpose the Richmond came close in to the left 
bank, under the batteries, and then circled round, her course 
reaching nearly up to the opposite point. In executing this 
manoeuvre, she gave our batteries successively a raking posi- 
tion, and they took excellent advantage of it, seriously damag- 
ing her, as the crashing of her timbers plainly told. 

The Mississippi undertook to execute the same manoeuvre, of 
turning round and making her escape back to the point she 
started from. She had rounded and just turned down stream, 
when one of our shots tore off her rudder, and another went 
crushing through her machinery. Immediately after came the 
rushing sound of steam escaping from some broken pipe, and 
the now unmanageable vessel drifted aground directly opposite 
our crescent line of batteries. Her range was quickly gained, 
and she was being rapidly torn to pieces by our missiles, when 
her commander gave the order for all hands to save themselves 
the best way they could. At the same time fire broke out in 
two places. At this time her decks were strewn with dead 
and wounded. Some fifty -five or sixty persons saved them- 
selves by jumping overboard and swimming to the shore. 

The dead and wounded were left upon the Mississippi, which 
soon floated off and started down with the current. All the 
other vessels were now out of range, and the spectacle of the 
burning ship was a grand and solemn one, yet mingled with 
painful thoughts of the horrible fate of those mangled unfor- 
tunates who were being burned to death upon this floating 
funeral pyre. As the flames would reach the shells lying 
among her guns, they exploded one by one, adding to the 
novel grandeur of the sight. The light of the burning wreck 
could be seen, steadily increasing its distance, for two hours 
and a half. At five minutes past five o'clock, when the Mis- 
sissippi was probably within five miles of Baton Rouge, a sud- 
den glare lit up the whole sky. The cause was well known to 
be the explosion of the magazine. After a considerable inter- 
val of time, a long rumbling sound brought final proof that 
the Mississippi, one of the finest vessels of the United States 
navy, which had earned an historical fame before the com- 
mencement of the present war, for her usefulness in the Gulf 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 247 

during the Mexican war, and as the flag-ship of the Japan ex- 
pedition, was a thing of the past. 

The victory of Port Hudson forms one of the most satisfac- 
tory and brilliant pages in the history of the war. The fleet, 
with the exception of the Hartford, had been driven back by 
our batteries, and a grateful surprise had been given to many 
of our people, who had acquired the disheartening conviction 
that gunboats could treat shore batteries with contempt. So 
far our strongholds on the Mississippi had bid defiance to the 
foe, and months of costly preparation for their reduction had 
been spent in vain. 

While these events were transpiring on the Mississippi, the 
long line of inland hostilities remained unvaried and almost 
silent. In Virginia and in Tennessee, the powerful armies of 
Lee and Hooker, Bragg and Rosecrans, had camped for months 
in close proximity, without a cannonade, and almost without a 
skirmish. To some extent the elements had proclaimed a 
truce, while the hesitating temper of the enemy betrayed a 
policy strangely at variance with the former vigorous campaign 
in the same season of the last year. Especially was the hesi- 
tation remarkable in Virginia, where the new commander-in- 
chief of the enemy — Hooker — was a violent member of the 
Abolitionist party. He was the chief of that clique among 
the Yankee officers who made the war, not to realize the dream 
of a restored Union, but for the subjugation and destruction 
of the Southern social system, the massacre or exile of the in- 
habitants of the Southern country, and the confiscation of their 
entire real and personal property. 

Beyond the Mississippi there was scarcely any thing to re- 
mark but a new assignment of military commands. We had 
now west of the Mississippi Lieutenant-gen. Kirby Smith, Gen. 
Price, Gen. Magruder, and Gen. Sibley. Gen. Smith had been 
placed at the head of the department, and had already issued 
an order announcing that fact; Gen. Price was assigned to 
lead the field movements for the redemption of Arkansas and 
his own State, Missouri; Gen. Sibley was moving to other im- 
portant points; and Gen. Magruder's field of operations was 
Texas. 

We have to record but a shigle incident in the spring of 
1863, to break the long silence of the lines of the Eappahan- 



248 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 

nock. On the niornini;; of the 17th of March the enemy cross- 
ed the river at Kelly's ford, with both a cavalry and artillery 
force, numbering probably three thousand men. They ad- 
vanced within six miles of Culpepper Court-house, where they 
were engaged by the brigade of Gen, Fitzhugh Lee. The 
fight was severe and lasted several hours. The Yankees were 
finally repulsed, and fell back routed and panicrstricken, after 
having inflicted a loss upon ns of about one hundred in killed 
and wounded. They had fought with some advantages at first, 
bravely contesting their ground, and it is not improbable that 
a report of reinforcements coming up to us was the occasion of 
their retreat. When the retreat was ordered, they fled in 
dismay and confusion. 

This aflfair — if it was worth &r\j thing — cost us the life of 
one of the most brilliant artillery officers in the army. Major 
Pelham, of Alabama, who had acquired the title of " the gal- 
lant Pelham" from the hands of Gen. Lee in the oflScial report 
of the battle of Fredericksburg, was killed by the fragment of 
a shell. At Fredericksburg, he had distinguished himself by 
sustaining the concentrated fire of a number of the enemy's 
batteries. In that terrible trial he had stood as a rock. In 
the affair which cost him his life, he had just risen in his sad- 
dle to cheer a troop of cavalry rushing to the charge, when 
the fatal blow was given. He was only twenty-two years of 
age, and had been through all the battles in Virginia. Un- 
usual honors were paid his rem.ains, for they were laid in the 
capitol, and tributes of rare flowers strewn upon the bier of 
" the young Marcellus of the South." 

NAVAL ATTACK ON CHARLESTON. 

The city of Charleston had long been the object of the 
enemy's lust ; it was considered a prize scarcely less important 
than the long- contested one of Richmond; and with more than 
their customary assurance, the Yankees anticipated the glory 
and counted the triumph? of the capture of the cradle of the 
revolution. It was thought to be an easy matter for Admiral 
Dupont's iron-clad fleet to take the city, and the Yankee news- 
papers for months had indulged the prospect of the capture of 
Charleston as a thing of the future that only awaited their 
pleasure. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE "WAR. 249 

On Sunday morning, the 5th of April, four " monitors," the 
Ironsides (an armor-plated frigate with an armament of twenty- 
two 10, 11, and 15-inch guns), and thirty vessels of various 
sizes, were seen off the bar. Four monitors and thirty-hve 
wooden vessels were added to the fleet on the following day ; 
thirty-five vessels, for the most part transports, appeared in 
the Stono, and the enemy landed a force of about six thousand 
men on Coles' and Battery Islands. These facts, with other 
indications, led Gen. Beauregard to count upon an attack on 
Tuesday, and the expectations of that sagacious and vigilant 
commander were not disappointed. 

The atmosphere early on Tuesday morning, 7th of April, 
was misty, but as the day advanced, the haze lightened, and 
the monitors and the Ironsides were seen lying oif Morris 
Island. Between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, a dis- 
patch from Col. Rhett, commandant of Fort Sumter, informed 
Gen. Beauregard that five monitors and the Ironsides were ap- 
proaching the fort. The fleet were seen rounding the point of 
Morris Island, the Keokuk in the advance. It was a happy 
moment for the defenders of Charleston. So long had sus- 
pense reigned in that city, that the booming of the signal gun 
and the announcement that at last the battle had begun was a 
positive relief. A thrill of joy came to every heart, and the 
countenances of all declared plainly that a signal victory over 
the mailed vessels was reckoned upon without doubt or mis- 
giving. The long-roll beat in Fort Sumter; the artillerists 
in that work rushed to their guns. The regimental flag of the 
1st South Carolina Artillery, and " the stars and bars" of the 
Confederate States, flaunted out from their flagstafl^s on the 
fort, and were saluted as the enemy advanced with an out- 
burst of " Dixie" from the band and the deep-mouthed roar of 
thirteen pieces of heavy artillery. 

On came the mailed monitors. Their ports were closed, and 
they appeared deserted of all living things. They moved 
northwardly towards Sullivan's Island, and at a distance from 
its batteries of about 1,200 yards they began to curve around 
towards Sumter. A flash, a cloud of smoke, a clap of thunder, 
herald a storm of heavy shot, which bursts from the island 
upon the side of the frigate. The ships move on silently. The 
deep-mouthed explosions of Sumter in the next instant burst 



250 THE SECOND YEAS OF THE WAK. 

upon the advancing sliips, and hurl tremendous bolts of 
wrought iron against the armor of the Ironsides. The frigate 
halts. At a distance of about twelve hundred yards from that 
work she delivers from seven guns a broadside of 15-inch shot, 
that dashes against the sea-face of Sumter with a heavy crash. 
Bricks iiy from the parapet and whirl from the traverse. A 
shell smashes a marble lintel in the officers' quarters, hustles 
through a window on the other side, and, striking the parapet, 
hurls a tornado of bricks far to the rear. The works on Morris 
Island burst into the deafening chorus — on land and on sea, 
from all the batteries of the outer circle, from all the turrets of 
the inner circle. 

It was manifest that the Ironsides was appointed to test the 
strength of the fort. Fort Sumter acknowledged the compli- 
ment by pouring the contents of her biggest guns into that 
pride of the Yankee navy. Advancing on her circling course, 
the Ironsides made way for her attendant warriors ; and one by 
one, as their turrets moved in the solemn waltz, they received 
the tire, sometimes diffused, sometimes concentrated, of the 
surrounding circle of batteries. The first division of the ships 
curved on its path under an iron storm that rended the air with 
its roar, and burst upon their mail in a quick succession of 
reports ; sometimes with the heavy groan of crushing, some- 
times with the sharp cry of tearing. Delivering a fire of shot 
and shell as they passed the works on Morris Island, the Iron- 
sides and her monitors moved slowly out of range. As the 
Ironsides withdrew from the action, taking position to the south 
of Fort Sumter, steam was seen issuing from her in dense vol- 
umes, and it was believed that she was seriously damaged. 

The Keokuk, a double-turreted iron-clad, led into the fight 
four monitors. More bold than even the Ironsides, she advanced 
under a tornado of shot to a position within about nine hundred 
yards of Fort Sumter. Halting at that distance, she discliarged 
her 15 inch balls from her turrets against the sea-face of that 
fort. Crushing and scattering the bricks on the line of her 
tremendous fire, she failed, however, to make any serious im- 
pression on the walls. A circle of angry flashes radiated to- 
wards her from all sides, while a tempest of iron bolts and 
round-shot crashed against her sides. For about twenty min- 
utes she stood still, in apparent helplessness. At the expiration 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 251 

of that time she moved slowly on, and after receiving the lire 
of the works on Morris Island, passed out of range. She was 
fairly riddled, for she had been the target of the most powerful 
guns the Confederates could command. Great holes were visi- 
ble in her sides, her prow, her after-turret, and her smoke- 
stack. Her plates were bent and bolts protruded heie and 
there all over her. She was making water rapidly, and it was 
plain to see that she was a doomed ship. 

After the Keokuk and her companions had passed out of 
range, the circular movement was not renewed. The ships 
retired outside the harbor to their anchorage ; and after about 
two hours and a half of a most terrible storm of shot and thun- 
der of artillery. Fort Sumter and its supporting batteries set- 
tled down under sluggish clouds of smoke into triumphs of 
quiet. 

Our victory was one of unexpected brilliancy, and had cost 
us scarcely more than the ammunition for our guns. A drum- 
mer boy was killed at Fort Sumter and five men wounded. 
Our artillery practice was excellent, as is proved by the fact 
that the nine Yankee vessels were struck five hundred and 
twenty times. The Keokuk received no less than ninety shots. 
She did not outlive the attack on Fort Sumter twelve hours. 
The next day her smoke-stack and one of her turrets were 
visible during low water oS" Morris Island, where she had 
sunk. 

The battle had been fought on the extreme outer line of fire, 
and the enemy had been defeated at the very threshold of our 
defences. Whether his attack was intended only as a recon- 
noissance, or whether what was supposed to be the preliminary 
skirmish was in fact the wdiole afl'air, it is certain that our suc- 
cess gave great assurances of the safety of Charleston ; that it 
had the proportions of a considerable victory ; and that it went 
far to impeach the once dreaded power of the iron-clads of the 
enemy.* 



* It is a question of scientific interest wlietlier, in the construction of iron- 
clads, the Confederate plan of slanted sides is not superior to the Yankee plan 
of thick-walled turrets — the Virginia-Merrimac, and not the Monitor, the true 
model. The Yankee monitor is an upright, cylindrical turret. If a shot strikes 
the centre line of this cylinder, it will not glance, but deliver its full force. On 
the contrary, the peculiarity of the Virginia-Merrimac was its roof-shaped sides, 



252 THE SECOND YEAR OE THE WAR. 

The month of April has bnt few events of militaiy note be- 
yond what has been referred to in the foregoing pages. The 
check of Van Dorn at Franklin, Tennessee, and the reverse of 
Pegram in Kentucky, were unimportant incidents; they did 
not affect the campaign, and their immediate disasters were 
inconsiderable. The raid of the latter, commander into Ken- 
tucky, again revived reports of the reaction of public sentiment 
in that unhappy State in favor of the Confederacy. It was on 
his retreat that lie was set upon by a superior force of the en- 
emy near Somerset, from which he effected an escape across 
the Cumberland, after the loss of about one hundred and fifty 
men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. 

This period, properly the close of the second year of hostili- 
ties, presents a striking contrast with the corresponding month 
of the former year with respect to the paramount aspects of 
the war. In April, 1862, the Confederates had fallen back in 
Virginia from the Potomac beyond the Rappahannock, and 
were on the point of receding from the vicinity of the lower 
Chesapeake before the advancing army of McClellan. Now 
they confronted the enemy from the Rappahannock and hov- 
ered upon his flank within striking distance to the Potomac, 
while another portion of our forces manoeuvred almost in the 
rear and quite upon the flank of Norfolk, Twelve months ago 
the enemy threatened the important Southern artery which 
links the coast of the Carolinas with Virginia ; he was master 
of Florida, both on the Atlantic and the Gulf; and Mobile 
trembled at every blast from the Federal bugles of Pensacola. 
Now liis North Carolina lines were held exclusively as lines of 
occupation ; he was repulsed on the seaboard ; his operations 
in Florida were limited to skirmishing parties of negroes ; and 
Mobile had become the nursery of cruisers in the ver}^ face of 
his blockading squadron. A year ago the grasp of the enemy 



on which the shot glances. The inventor of that noble naval structure, Com- 
mander Brook(!, claimed the slanted or roof-shaped sides as constituting the 
original feature and most important merit of his invention. We may add now 
that to the genius of this accomplished officer the Confederacy was variously 
indebted ; for it was a gun of his invention — " the Brooke gun" — that fired the 
bolt which pierced the turret of the Keokuk, and gave the first proof in the 
war that no thickness of iron, that is practical in the construction of such a 
machine, is sufficient to secure it. 



THE SECOND YK.AK OF THE WAR. 253 

was closing on the Mississippi from Cairo to tlie Gulf; but 
while Butler was enjoying his despotic amusements and build- 
ing up his private fortunes in the Crescent City, the strong- 
holds of Yicksburg and Port Hudson were created, and held 
at bay the most splendid expeditions which the extravagance of 
the Nortli had yet prepared. A year ago the enemy, by his 
successes in Kentucky and Tennessee, held the way almost into 
the very heart of the Confederacy, through Eastern Tennessee 
and Western Virginia. Now the fortunes of the M^ar in that 
whole region were staked upon the issues of impending battle. 
For three months the " grand hesitation" of the North had 
continued. With some seven or eight hundred thousand sol- 
diers in the field and countless cruisers swarming on our coasts, 
the enemy had yet granted us a virtual suspension of arms 
since the great battles of Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro', 
interrupted only by petty engagements and irresolute and fruit- 
less bombardments. He had shown that he possessed no real 
confidence in the success of his arms ; he had so far failed to 
reduce any one of " the tliree great strongholds of the rebel- 
lion," Richmond, Charleston, and Yicksburg; and he had ceased 
to map out those plans of conquest of which he was formerly 
so prolific. 



^64 THE BEOOND TEAR OF THE WAS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Close of the Second Year of the War. Propriety of an Outline of some succeed- 
ing Events. — Cavalry Enterprises of the Enemy. — The raids in Mississippi and Vir- 
ginia. — Sketch of the Battles of the Rappahannock. — The Enemy's Plan of Attack. 
— The Fight at Chancellorsville. — The Splendid Charge of " Stonewall" Jackson. — 
The Fight at Fredericksburg. — The Fight at Salem Church. — Summary of our Victory. 
— Death of " Stonewall" Jackson.— His Character and Services. 

The second year of the war, having commenced with the 
fall of New Orleans, 1st of May, 1862, properly closes with 
the events recorded in the preceding chapter. Of succeeding 
events, which have occurred between this period and that of 
publication, we do not propose to attempt at this time a full 
narrative; their detail belongs to another volume. It is pro- 
posed at present only to make an outline of them, so as to 
give to the reader a stand-point of intelligent observation, 
from which he may survey the general situation at the time 
these pages are given to the public. 

The next volume of our history will open on that series of 
remarkable raids and enterprises on the part of the enemy's 
cavalry, which, in the months of April and May, disturbed 
many parts of the Confederacy. We shall find that the ex- 
tent of these raids of Yankee horsemen, their simultaneous 
occurrence in widely removed parts of the Confederacy, and 
the circumstances of each, betrayed a deliberate and extensive 
purpose on the part of the enemy and a consistency of design 
deserving the most serious consideration. 

We shall relate how the people of Richmond were alarmed 
by the apparition of Yankee cavalry near their homes. But 
we shall find causes of congratulation that the unduly famous 
expedition of Stoneman was not more destructive. The dam- 
age which it inflicted upon our railroads was slight, its hurried 
pillage did not amount to much, and the only considerable 
capture it efiected was a train of commissary wagons in King 
William county. 

Other parts of the Confederacy, visited about the same time 



THE SECOND TEAR OF TPIK WAR. 255 

by Yankee cavalry, were not so fortunate. The Stq^te of Mis- 
sissippi was ransacked almost through its entire length by the 
Grierson raid. Starting from Corinth, near the northern 
boundary of Mississippi, a body of Yankee horsemen, cer- 
tainly not exceeding two thousand, rode down the valley of 
the Tombigbee, penetrated to a point below the centre of the 
State, and then making a detour, reached the Mississippi Gulf 
coast in safety. This force, so insignificant in numbers, made 
the entire passage of the State of Mississippi, from the north- 
east to the southwest corner ; and the important town of En- 
terprise was barely saved by reinforcements of infantry which 
arrived from Meridian just fifteen minutes before the Yankees 
demanded the surrender of the place. 

We shall have to add here cotemporary accounts of another 
Yankee raid in Georgia. That adventure, however, was hap- 
pily nipped in the bud by Forrest, who captured the Yankee 
commander, Stuart, and his entire party, at Rome, Georgia, 
after one of the most vigorous pursuits ever made of an enemy. 

The interest of these raids was something more than that of 
the excursions of brigands. That of Stoneman was an im- 
portant part of the great battle which signalized the opening 
of the month of May on the banks of the Rappahannock, and 
broke at last the " grand hesitation" of the enemy, which had 
been the subject of so much impatience in the South. 

SKETCH OF THE BATTLES OF THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 

The plan of attack adopted by Gen. Hooker may be briefly 
characterized as a feint on our right, and a flank movement in 
force on our left. It was determined to throw a heavy force 
across the river just below the mouth of Deep Run, and three 
miles below Fredericksburg, and pretend to renew the attempt 
in which Burnside had previously been unsuccessful. The ob- 
ject of this movement was two-fold — first, to hold the Confed- 
erate forces at that point ; and second, to protect Hooker's 
communications and supplies, while the other half of the army 
should make a crossing above the fortifications, and sweeping 
down rapidly to the rear of Fredericksburg, take a strong po- 
sition and hold it until they could be reinforced by the portion 
of the army engaged in making the feint, which was to with- 



256 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 

draw from its position, take the bridges to the point of the 
river which had been uncovered by the flank movement, and 
the whole army was thus to be concentrated in the rear of 
Fredericksburg. 

The execution of this plan was commenced on Monday, the 
26th of April. Three corps iVarmee — the Fifth, Eleventh, and 
Twelfth — were ordered to march up the river with eight days' 
rations to Kelly's ford, on the north bank of the Rappahan- 
nock, near the Orange and Alexandria railroad. This force, 
under the command of Gen. Slocum, of the Twelfth corps, 
reached the point at which it was to cross the Rappahannock 
on Tuesday night. On the same night three other corps — the 
First, Third, and Sixth — were sent to the mouth of Deep Run, 
three miles below Fredericksburg, to be ready to undertake 
the crossing simultaneously with the other corps at Kelly's 
ford on Wednesday morning, before day. The movement 
was successfully conducted at both points, and without serious 
opposition from the Confederates. 

The Second corps, under Couch, which had remained at 
Banks' ford, four miles above the town, was moved up to the 
United States ford, just below the point of confluence of the 
Rappahannock and Rapidan, and crossed to join Gen. Slocum, 
who had crossed the Rappahannock several miles higher up at 
Kelly's ford, and the Rapidan at Germania Mills and Ely's 
ford, and marched down to Chancellorsville. These move- 
ments occupied Wednesday and Thursday. Hooker now as- 
sumed command of the right wing of his army. He took his 
position across the plank-road and turnpike at Chancellorsville, 
eleven miles from Fredericksburg, in order to cut oft' our an- 
ticipated retreat in the direction of Gordons ville, and strength- 
ened his naturally formidable position by a series of elaborate 
abatis and field-works. 

The North eagerl}'' seized upon the difi'erent circumstances 
of the existing situation as indicative of victory. Gen. Hooker 
had made himself conspicuous in the eyes of the Yankees. 
He was confident, when examined before the Congressional 
Committee on the conduct of the war, that he could have 
marched into Richmond at any time at his ease had he been 
at the head of the Army of the Potomac instead of Gen. 
McClellan ; and if he had had command instead of Burnside, 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THK WAR. 257 

he would have achieved wonders. He had recently stated 
that the army he led was "the finest on tjie planet," "an array 
of veterans," as the Tribune remarked, " superior to that of the 
Peninsula;" and so large was it that Northern journals as- 
serted that Hooker had more troops than he knew what to do 
with. Nor was this all. He was allowed by Lee to cross the 
Kappahannock, without opposition and without loss, and to se- 
cure a position deemed impi*egnable — one which, according to 
the order he issued on Thursday the 30th of April, had ren- 
dered it necessary that " the enemy must either ingloriously 
fly, or come out from behind his defences and give us (the Yan- 
kee army) battle on our own ground, where certain destruction 
waits him." 

In the mean time, Gen. Lee was not slow to meet the dispo- 
sitions of his adversary. The enemy continued to pour across 
the river at Deep Run, until three entire corps, numbering be- 
tween fifty and sixty thousand men under Gen. Sedgwick, had 
crossed to the south side. Lee calmly watched this movement, 
as well as the one higher up the river under Hooker, until he 
had penetrated the enemy's design, and seen the necessity of 
making a rapid division of his own forces, to confront him on 
two different fields, and risking the result of fighting him in 
detail. 

About noon on "Wednesday, the 29th, information was re- 
ceived that the enemy had crossed the Rappahannock in force 
at Kelly's and Ellis' fords above, and were passing forward 
towards Germania Mills and Ely's ford on the Rapidan. Two 
brigades of Anderson's division, Posey's Mississippians, and 
Mahone's Yirginians, numbering about 8,000' men, and one 
battery of four guns, were, and had been for several weeks, 
stationed in the neighborhood of Ely's ford on the Rapidan, 
and United States ford on the Rappahannock, guarding the 
approaches to Fredericksburg in that direction. It was appa- 
rent that this small force would be entirely inadequate to ar- 
rest the approach of Hooker's heavy column, and "Wright's 
brigade was ordered up to their support. At daylight on 
Thursday morning, the head of "Wright's brigade reached 
Chancellorsville, at which point Posey and Mahone had con- 
centrated their forces with a view of making a stand. Major- 
gen. Anderson having also arrived in the latter part of the 

17 



258 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAK. 

night, and having obtained further information of the number 
of the Yankee forces, upon consultation with his brigade com- 
manders, determined to fall back from Chancellorsville in the 
direction of Fredericksburg, live miles, to a point where the 
Old Mine road, leading from the United States ford, crosses 
the Orange and Fredericksburg turnpike and plank-road. 
The turnpike and plank-road were parallel, to each other 
from Chancellorsville to the point where the Old Mine road 
crosses them, and from there to Fredericksburg they make one 
road. 

Chancellorsvilletis eleven miles above Fredericksburg, and 
about four miles south of the point of confluence of the Rapi- 
dan with the Rappahannock, and consists of a large two-story 
brick house, formerly kept as a tavern, and a few out-houses. 
It is situated on the plank-road leading from Fredericksburg 
to Orange Court-house, and is easily approached by roads 
leading from Germania Mills, and Ely's, United States, and 
Banks' fords. Between Chancellorsville and the river and 
above lies the "Wilderness, a district of country formerly 
covered with a scrubby black-jack, oaks, and a thick, tangled 
nnder-growth, but now somewhat cleared up. The ground 
around Chancellorsville is heavily timbered, and favorable for 
defence. Seven miles from Chancellorsville, on the road to 
Fredericksburg, and four miles from the latter place, is Salem 
Church. 

During the night of Thursday, Gen. Lee ordered Jackson to 
march from his camp below Fredericksburg, with A. P. Hill's 
and Rhodes' (formerly D. H. Hill's) division, to the relief of 
Anderson. Geli. Lee brought up the divisions of Anderson 
and McLaws. He occupied the attention of the enemy in 
front, while Gen. Jackson, with the divisions of Hill, Rhodes, 
and Trimble, moved by the road that leads from the Mine 
road, behind the line-of-battle, to the road that leads to Ger- 
mana ford. This movement of General Jackson occupied 
nearly the whole of Saturday, May 2d, so that he did not get 
into position at the Wilderness Church until near sunset of 
that day. 

While Jackson was gaining the enemy's rear, McLaws and 
Anderson had successfully maintained their position in front. 
Hooker had been felicitating himself upon his supposed good 



THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 259 

fortune in gaining our rear. What must have been his sur- 
prise, then, to find Stonewall Jackson on his extreme right and 
rear. Jackson's assault was sudden and furious. In a short 
time he threw Siegel's corps (the 11th) of Dutchmen into a 
perfect panic, and was driving the whole right wing of the 
Yankee army fiercely down upon Anderson's and McLaw's 
sturdy veterans, who, in turn, hurled them back, and rendered 
futile their efforts to break through our lower lines, and made 
it necessary for them to give back towards the river. 

There was an intermission of about one hour in the firing 
from three until nine o'clock. It was at this time that Jack- 
son received his death wound from his own men, who mistook 
him for the enemy. Gen. Hill, upon whom the command now 
devolved, was soon afterwards wounded also, when Gen. Rhodes 
assumed command until Gen. Stuart could arrive upon that 
part of the field. Stewart renewed the fight at nine o'clock, 
night as it was, in accordance with Gen. Jackson's original 
plan, and did not withhold his blows until the enemy's right had 
been doubled in on his centre in and around Chancellors ville. 

At daylight Sunday morning, our army, which now sur- 
rounded the enemy on all sides except towards the river, com- 
menced advancing and closing in upon him from all points. 
The enemy had dug rifle-pits and cut abatis in front and along 
his whole line, while his artillery, well protected by earth- 
works, covered every eminence and swell of rising ground, so 
as to get a direct and enfilading fire upon our advancing 
columns. But on our gallant men moved, their ranks played 
upon by an incessant fire of shell, grape, and canister, from the 
front, the right, and left. On they pressed through the wood, 
over the fields, up the hills, into the very mouths of the enemy's 
guns and the long line of rifle-pits. With a terrible shout they 
sprang forward, and rushing through the tangled abatis, they 
gained the bank in front of the rifle-pits, when the foe gave 
way in great confusion and fled. 

An extraordinary victory appeared to be in our grasp. The 
capture or destruction of Hooker's army now appeared certain. 

Gen. Lee, finding the enemy still in force towards the river, 
ordered the army to form on the plank-road above Chancellors- 
ville, extending his line in a southeasterly direction down the 
turnpike below Chancellorsville, with his centre resting about 



260 THE SECOND YKAK OF THE WAR. 

the latter point. Just then, news was received that Sedgwick, 
taking advantage of our weakness, had crossed the river at 
Fredericksburg, driven Barksdale from the town, and occupied 
Marye's hill, after capturing several pieces of the Washington 
Artillery. It was also stated that Sedgwick was advancing up 
the plank-road upon Lee's rear. This movement of the enemy 
was all that saved Hooker from destruction. 

The story of the reverse at Fredericksburg is easily told. 
Our forces in defence of the line, commencing at Marye's hill 
and terminating at Hamilton's crossings consisted of Gen. 
Barksdale's brigade and Gen, Early's division. Gen. Barks- 
dale held the extreme left. His line had its beginning at a. 
point two hundred yards north of Marye's heights, and ex- 
tended a mile and a half to a point opposite -the pontoon bridge 
on the left of Mansfield. This brigade, on the morning of the 
battle, did not exceed two thousand in numbers, rank and file, 
and throughout the entire length of its line had no other sup- 
port than six pieces of the Washington Artillery,which were 
posted on Marye's heights, and Read's battery, which was 
placed in position on the hill to the left of Howison's house. 

Against this position the enemy brought to bear the com- 
mand of Gibbins on the left flank, and about twenty thousand 
of Sedgwick's corps. The first assault was made in front of 
the stone wall, as in the case of last December, and was sig- 
nally repulsed. This was repeated three times, and on each 
occasion the handful of men behind the wall, with shouts of 
enthusiasm and deadly volleys, drove back the assailants.- The 
first charge was made before sunrise, and the others in as rapid 
succession as was possible" after rallying and reinforcement. 
About nine o'clock in the morning the enemy adopted the ruse 
of requesting a flag of truce, for the alleged purpose of carry- 
ing ofi" the wounded, but for the real object of ascertaining our 
force. The flag was granted, and thereby our insuflicient de- 
fence was exposed, the bearer coming up on the left flank from 
a direction whence our whole line was visible. Immediately 
after the conclusion of the truce, the enemy reinforced their 
front, and threw the whole of Gibbins' division on our left, de- 
fended by the 21st Mississippi regiment alone, commanded by 
Col. B. J. Humphreys. This regiment faced the advancing 
host without quailing, and, after firing until but a few feet in- 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 261 

tervened between them and the foe, they chibbed muskets and 
successfully dashed back tlie front line of their assailants. The 
enemy, by the force of overwhelming numbers, however, broke 
through our line, and Marye's hill was flanked about eleven 
o'clock Sunday morning. 

The turn which events had taken in front of Fredericksburg 
made it necessary for Gen. Lee to arrest the pursuit of Hooker, 
and caused him to send back to Fredericksburg the divisions of 
Anderson and McLaws to check the advance of Sedgwick. 
Gen. McLaws moved down the plank-road to reinforce Barks- 
dale and Wilcox, the latter of whom had been observing 
Banks' ford, and who had been driven back to Salem Church. 
McLaws reaching Salem Church in time to relieve Wilcox 
from the pressure of overwhelming numbers, checked the ad- 
vance of Sedgwick, and drove him back, with great loss to both 
parties, until night closed the conflict. 

The enemy, however, was not yet defeated. One more 
struggle remained, and to make that the enemy during the 
night massed a heavy force against McLaws' left in order to 
establish communication with Llooker along the river road. 
Anderson moved rapidly to the support of McLaws, and 
reached the church about 12 m., having marched fifteen miles. 
Gen. Lee having arrived on the field, ordered Anderson to 
move round the church and establish his right on Early's left, 
(Early having come up from Hamilton's crossing, in rear of 
the enemy). The enemy having weakened his left in order to 
force McLaws and gain the river road, Gen. Lee massed a 
heavy force upon this weakened part of the enemy, and at a 
concerted signal, Anderson and Early rushed upon the enemy's 
left. 

The signal for the general attack was not given until just 
before sunset, when our men rushed upon the enemy like a 
hurricane. But little resistance was made, the beaten foe hav- 
ing fled in wild confusion in the direction of Banks' ford. At 
dark a short pause ensued ; but as soon as the moon rose, the 
enemy was speedily driven to Banks' ford, and on that night 
of the 4th of May ended this remarkable series of battles on 
the lines of the Rappahannock. 

The enemy being driven from every point around Freder- 
icksburg, Gen. Lee determined to make short work of Hookei 



262 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

at United States ford. Therefore, Tuesday noon Anderson 
was ordered to proceed immediately back to Chancellorsville, 
while McLaws was instructed to take up his position in front 
of United States ford, at or near the junction of the Old Mine 
and River roads. But a drenching storm of wind and rain set 
in and continued without cessation until Wednesday forenoon, 
when it was discovered that Hooker, taking advantage of the 
darkness and the storm, had also retreated across the river the 
preceding night. 

Our forces engaged in the fight did not exceed fifty thousand 
men. The enemy's is variously estimated at from one hundred 
thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand. Yet the greater 
gallantry of our troops, even despite the emergency into which 
their commander had brought them, enabled him not only to 
beat this immense army, but^to capture several thousand pris- 
oners, thirty or forty thousand small-arms, several stands of 
colors, and an immense amount of personal property, and to 
kill and wound some twenty -five thousand men. It was a glo- 
rious week's work.* 

We have not at present thoselights before us necessary for 
a just criticism of the military aspects of these battles of the 
Rappahannock. They were undoubtedly a great victory for 
the Confederacy. But there were two remarkable misfortunes 
which diminished it. The breaking of our lines at Fredericks- 
burg withdrew pursuit from Hooker. When thereupon our 



* The army which accomplished this work was, according to the Yankee de- 
scription of it, a curiosity. Some of tlie military correspondence of the Yankee 
journals was more candid than usual, and admitted a shameful defeat by the 
" ragged rebels." One of these correspondents wrote : 

" We had men enough, well enough equipped and well enough posted, to 
have devoured the ragged, imperfectly armed and equipped host of our ene- 
mies from oflF the face of the earth. Their artillery horses are poor, starved 
frames of beasts, tied on to their carriages and caissons with odds and ends of 
rope and strips of raw hide. Their supply and ammunition trains look like a 
congregation of all the crippled California emigrant trains that ever escaped 
oflf the desert out of the clutches of the rampaging Camanche Indians. The 
men are ill-dressed, ill-equipped, and ill-provided — a set of ragamuffins that a 
man is ashamed to be seen among, even when he is a prisoner and can't help 
it. And yet they have beaten us fairly, beaten us all to pieces, beaten us so 
easily that we are objects of contempt even to their commonest private soldiers, 
with no shirts to hang out of the holes in their pantaloons, and cartridge-boxes 
tied roimd their waists with strands of rope." 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 263 

forces were turned upon Sedgwick, a second misfortune robbed 
us of a complete success ; for he managed to secure his retreat 
by Banks' ford, which exit might possibly have been cut off, 
and the exclusion of which would have secured his surrender. 
Of these events there is yet no official detail. 

But a shadow greater than that of any partial misfortunes 
on the field rested on the Confederate victory of Chancellors- 
ville. It was the death of Gen. Jackson. This event is impor- 
tant enough to require, even in the contracted limits of these 
supplementary pages, a separate title and a notice apart from 
our general narrative. 



Tfl^ DEATH OF "STONEWALL" JACKSON. 

It was about eight o'clock on Saturday evening, 2d of May, 
when Gen. Jackson and his staff, who were returning on the front 
of our line of skirmishers, were fired upon by a regiment of his 
own corps, who mistook the party for tlie enemy. At the time, 
the general was only about fifty yards-iu advance of the enemy. 
He had given orders to fire at any thing coming up the road, 
before he left the lines. The enemy's skirmishers appeared 
ahead of him and he turned to ride back. Just then some one 
cried out, " Cavalry ! charge !" and immediately the regiment 
fired. The whole party broke forward to ride through our line 
to escape the fire. Captain Boswell was killed and carried 
through the line by his horse, and fell amid our own men. The 
general himelf was struck by three balls : one through the left 
arm, two inches below the shoulder joint, shattering the bone 
and severing the chief artery ; another ball passed through the 
same arm, between the elbow and wrist, making its exit through 
the palm of the hand ; a third ball entered the palm of the right 
hand about its middle, and passing through, broke two of the 
bones. As Gen. Jackson was being borne from the field, one 
of the litter-bearers was shot down, and the general fell from 
the shoulders of the men, receiving a severe contusion, adding 
to the injury of the arm, and injuring the side severely. The 
enemy's fire of artillery on the point was terrible. Gen. Jack- 
son was left for five minutes, until the fire slackened, then 
placed in an ambulance and carried to the field hospital at 



264: THE SECOND YEAE OF THE WAR. 

Wilderness Rim. lie lost a large amount of blood, and at one 
time told Dr. McGuire he thought he was dying, and would 
have bled to death, but a tourniquet was immediately applied. 
For two hours he was nearly pulseless from the shock. 

Amputation of the arm was decided upon, and the operation 
was borne so well that hopes of a speedy recovery were confi- 
dently entertained. A few days had elapsed, and his physi- 
cians had decided to remove the distinguished sufferer to 
Richmond, when symptoms of pneumonia were unfortunately . 
developed. The complication of this severe disease with his 
wounds, left but little hope of his life, and on Sunday, the 
eighth day of his suffering, it was apparent that he was rap- 
idly sinking, and he was informed that he was dying. The 
intelligence was received with no expression of disappointment 
or anxiety on the part of the dying hero ; his only resj)onse 
was, "It is all right," which was repeated. He had pre- 
viously said that he considered his wounds " a blessing," as 
Providence had always a good design in whatever it ordained, 
and to that Providence in which he had always trusted he 
had committed himself with uninterrupted confidence. But 
once he regretted his early fall, and that was with reference 
to the immediate fortunes of the field. He said : " If I had 
not been wounded, or had had an hour more of daylight, 
I would have cut off the enemy from the road to the 
United States ford, and we would have had them entirely 
suiTounded, and they would have been obliged to surrender or 
cut their way out ; they had no other alternative. My troops 
sometimes may fail in driving the enemy from a position, but 
the enemy always fail to drive my men from a position." This 
was said with a sort of smiling playfulness. 

The following account of the dying moments of the hero is 
taken from the authentic testimony of a religious friend and 
companion: 

" He endeavored to cheer those who were around him. No- 
ticing the sadness of his beloved wife, he said to her tenderly, 
'I know you would gladly give your life for me, but I am per- 
fectly resigned. Do not be sad — I hope I shall recover. Pray 
for me, but always remember in your prayer, to use the peti- 
tion. Thy will be done.' Those who were around him noticed 
a remarkable development of tenderness in his manner and 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 265 

feelings during his illness, that was a beautiful mellowing of 
that iron sternness and iinperturbable calm that characterized 
him in his military operations. Advising his wife, in the 
event of his death, to return to her father's house, he remarked, 
'You have a kind and good father ; but there is no one so kind 
and good as your Heavenly Father.' When she told him that 
the doctors did not think he could live two hours, although he 
did not himself expect to die, he replied, 'It will be infinite 
gain to be translated to Heaven and be with Jesus.' He then 
said he had much to say to her, but was too weak. 

" He had always desired to die, if it were God's will, on the 
Sabbath, and seemed to greet its light that day with peculiar 
pleasure, saying, with evident delight, 'It is the Lord's day;' 
and inquired anxiously what provision had been made for 
preaching to the army ; and having ascertained that arrange- 
ments were made, he was contented. Delirium, which occa- 
sionally manifested itself during the last two days, prevented 
some of the utterances of his faith, which would otherwise 
have doubtless been made. His thoughts vibrated between 
religious subjects and the battle-field ; now asking some ques- 
tions about the Bible, or church history, and then giving an 
order — 'Pass the infantry to the front' 'Tell Major Hawks 
to send forward provisions to the men.' 'Let us cross over the 
river, and rest under the shade of the trees,' — until at last his 
gallant spirit gently passed over the dark river and entered on 
its rest." 

It is not proposed here, nor could space be found within the 
limits of a supplementary chapter to make a record of the life 
and services of Gen. Jackson. A very brief sketch is all that 
is possible ; and indeed it is scarcely necessary to do more, as 
so much of his military life is already spread on the pages of 
this volume and intermixed with the general narrative of the 
war. 

Gen. Thomas Jonathan Jackson was born in Harrison county, 
Virginia, in 1825, and graduated at West Point in 1846. His 
first military services were in the Mexican war, and he behaved 
so well that he was breveted major for his services. The Army 
Register and the actual history and facts of the Mexican war 
do not furnish the name of another person entering the war 
without position or office, who attained the high rank of major 



266 THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 

in the brief campaign and series of battles from Vera Cruz to 
the city of Mexico. 

At the close of the Mexican war Jackson resigned his posi- 
tion in the army, and obtained a professorship in the Virginia 
Military Institute. His services were not conspicuous here. 
Col. Gilham was considered as the military genius of the 
school, and Thomas Jackson was but little thouglit of by the 
small hero-worshippers of Lexington. The cadets had but 
little partiality for the taciturn, praying professor. 

Perhaps none of the acquaintances of Jackson were more 
surprised at his brilliant exhibitions of genius in this war, than 
those who knew his blank life at the Institute, and were familiar 
with the stiff and uninteresting figure that was to be seen every 
Sunday in a pew of the Presbyterian Church at Lexington. But 
true genius awaits occasion commensurate with its power and 
aspiration. The spirit of Jackson was trained in another school 
than that of West Point or Lexington, and had it been confined 
there, it never would have illuminated the page of history. 

In the early periods of the war, Jackson, commissioned colonel 
by the Governor of Virginia, was attached to Gen. Johnston's 
command, on the Upper Potomac. At Falling Waters, on the 
2d of July, 1861, he engaged the advance of Patterson, and 
gave the Yankees one of the first exemplifications of his ready- 
witted strategy ; as Patterson never knew that, for several hours, 
he was fighting an insignificant force, skilfully disposed to con- 
ceal their weakness, while Johnston was making his dispositions 
in the rear. 

The first conspicuous services of Jackson in this war were 
rendered at Manassas, in 1861 ; although the marks of active 
determination he had shown on the Upper Potomac, and the 
affair at Falling Waters, had already secured for him promo- 
tion to a brigadier-generalship. The author recollects some 
paragraphs in a Southern newspaper expressing great merri- 
ment at the first apparition of the future hero on the battle- 
field. His queer figure on horseback, and the habit of settling 
his chin in his stock, were very amusing to some correspond- 
ents, who made a flippant jest in some of the Southern news- 
papers of the military specimen of the Old Dominion. The 
jest is forgiven and forgotten in the tributes of admiration and 
love which were to ensue to the popular hero of the war. 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 267 

We have already given in another part of this work (the 
first vohime), an account of the remarkable expedition of Jack- 
son in the depth of the winter of 1S61-2, to Winchester, where 
he liad been sent from Gen. Johnston's lines. The expedition 
was successful, and the march was made through an almost 
blinding storm of snow and sleet, our troops bivouacking at 
night in the forest, where many died from cold and exhaustion. 

Without doubt, the most brilliant and extraordinary passages 
in the military life of General Jackson was the ever famous 
campaign of the summer of 1862 in the Yalley of Virginia. 
From the valley he reached by rapid marches the lines of the 
Chickahominy in time to play a conspicuous part in the splen- 
did conclusion of the campaign of the Peninsula. 

Since the battles of the Chickahominy, the military services 
of General Jackson are comparatively fresh in the recollections 
of the public. We have already seen in these pages that the 
most substantial achievements and brilliant successes of last 
summer's campaign in Virginia are to be attributed to him. 

The participation of Jackson in the campaign of Maryland, 
and that of the Rappahannock, shared their glory, but without 
occasion for observation on those distinct and independent 
movements which were h.\s, forte, and for the display of which 
he had room in the valley campaign, and that against Pope. 

The most noble testimony of the .services of the departed 
hero in the battle of Chancellorsville is to be found in the note 
of Gen. Lee, which is characteristic of his own generosity and 
worth. Gen. Lee wrote him : 

" General : I have just received your note informing me 
that you were wounded. I cannot express my regret at the 
occurrence. Could I have dictated events, I should have chosen 
for the good of the country to have been disabled in your 
stead. 

" I congratulate you upon the victory which is due to your 
skill and energy." 

Jackson's response to his attendants on hearing the note read 
is said to have been, " Gen. Lee should give the glory to God." 
It was an expression of his modesty and reverence. 

A friend relates that a few nights befoi'e this battle, an 
equally characteristic incident occurred that is worthy of 



268 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

record. He was discussing with one of his aids the proba- 
bility and issue of a battle, when he became unusually excited. 
After talking it over fully, he paused, and with deep humility 
and reverence said, " My trust is in God ;" then, as if the 
sound of battle was in his ear, he raised himself to his tallest 
stature, and, with flashing eyes and a face all blazoned with the 
fire of the conflict, he exclaimed, " I wish they would come." 

A strong religious sentiment combined with practical energy, 
and an apparent dash of purpose qualified by the silent calcu- 
lations of genius, were the remarkable traits of the character 
of Jackson. It was his humble Christian faith combined with 
the spirit of the warrior that made that rare and lofty type of 
martial prowess that has shrined Jackson among the great 
heroes of the age. 

From all parts of the living world have come tributes to bis 
fame. " He was," says the London Times, " one of the most . 
consummate generals that this century has produced. . . . 
That mixture of daring and judgment, which is the mark of 
'Heaven-born' generals, distinguished him beyond any man 
of his time. Although the young Confederacy has been 
illustrated by a number of eminent soldiers, yet the applause 
and devotion of his countrymen, confirmed by the judgment 
of European nations, have given the first place to Gen. Jack- 
son. The military feats he accomplished moved the minds of 
the people with astonishment, which it is only given to the 
highest genius to produce. The blows he struck at the enemy 
were as terrible and decisive as those of Bonaparte himself." 

It is proposed already that the State of Virginia shall build 
for him a stately tomb, and strike a medal to secure the 
memory of his name. These expressions of a nation's grati- 
tude may serve its own pleasure. But otherwise they are un- 
necessary. 

" Dear son of memory, great heir of fame, 
What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name !" 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 269 



CHAPTER Xn. 

A Period of Disasters. — Department of the Mississippi. — Grant's March upon 
Vicksburg.— Its Steps and Incidents. — The Engagement of Port Gibson. — The Evacu- 
ation of Jackson. — The Battle of Baker's Creek. — Pemberton's Declarations as to the 
Defence ofVicksburg. — A grand Assault upon the " Heroic City." — Its Eepulse. — 
The Final Surrender of Vicksburg. — How the Public Mind of the South was shocked. 
— Consequences of the Disaster. — How it involved affairs on the Lower Mississippi. 
— Other Theatres of the War. — The Campaign in Pennsylvania and Martla nd. — 
Hooker manoeuvred ou^ of Virginia. — The Eecaptnre of Winchester. — The Second 
Invasion of the Northern Territory. — The Alarm of the North. — Gen. Lee's object in 
the Invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. — His Essays at Conciliation. — The Er- 
ror of such Policy. — The advance of his Lines into Pennsylvania. — The Battle of 
Gettysburg. — The Three Days' Engagements. — Death of Barksdale.— Pickett's splen- 
did Charge on the Batteries. — Repulse of the Confederates. — Anxiety and Alarm in 
Eichmond. — Lee's sale Eetreat into Virginia. — Mystery of his Movement. — Eecovery 

of the Confidence of the South Eeview of the Present Aspects of the 

War. — Comparison between the Disasters of 1862 and those of 1863. — The Vitals of 
the Confederacy yet untouched. — Review of the Civil Administration. — President 
Davis, his Cabinet, and his Favorites. — His private Quarrels. — His Deference to Euro- 
pean Opinion. — Decline of the Finances of the Confederacy. — Reasons of their Decline. 
The Confederate Brokers. — The Blockade Runners. — The Disaffections of Property- 
holders. — The Spirit of the Army. — The Moral Resolution of tlie Confederacy. — How 
the Enemy has strengthened it. — The Prospects of the Future. 

We find it necessary to give another chapter to the exten- 
sion of our narrative beyond its appropriate limit. "We shall 
proceed rapidly with a general reference to such events as may 
exhibit the condition of the Confederacy at the time of this 
writing, reserving details for another volume that will properly 
cover the period of the third year of the War. That year has 
opened with disasters, at which we can now glance only im- 
perfectly, for upon them the lights of time have scarcely yet 
developed. 

department of the MISSISSIPPI. 

As the attention of the reader returns to the busy scenes of 
the war, it is taken by one of those sudden translations, so 
common in this history, from Virginia to the distant theatres 
of the West. The smoke of battle yet lingered on the Rappa- 
nock, when the attention of the public was suddenly drawn to 



270 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

the Yalley of the Mississippi by the startling announcement 
that an army of the enemy was on the overland march against 
Vicksburg, that had so long defied an attack from the water. 

We have at this time only very uncertain materials for the 
history of the campaign in Mississippi. We must at present 
trust ourselves to a very general outline that will exclude any 
considerable extent of comment ; satisfied that what we can do 
at present to interest the reader is simply to put certain leading 
occurrences of the campaign in their natural succession, and 
make a compact resume of events which, up to this time, have 
been related in a very confused and scattering style. 

By running the gauntlet of our batteries at Vicksburg with 
his transports. Grant avoided the necessity, of the completion 
of the canal, and secured a passage of the river, after leading 
his troops over the narrow peninsula below Vicksburg, at any 
point above Port Hudson which he might select. It appears 
that the defences at Grand Gulf, twenty-two miles south of 
Warrenton, at the mouth of Black river, were only constructed 
after the enem}^ had succeeded in getting some of his vessels 
between Port Hudson and Vicksburg. The Black river being 
navigable for some distance, they were intended to obstruct 
the passage of a force to the rear of Vicksburg by this route. 

Th6 abandonment of our works there, after a severe bombard- 
ment, opened the door to the enemy, and the battle of Port 
Gibson, fought on the 1st day of May, put them still further 
on their way to Vicksburg. The evacuation of Port Gibson 
by Gen. Bo wen was followed by that of Bayou Pierre, and his 
forces were withdrawn across the Big Black within twenty 
miles of Vicksburg. 

So far in the campaign the enemy had a remarkable advan- 
tage. Our generals were wholly unable to penetrate his de- 
signs, and were compelled to wait the progressive steps of their 
development. 

It was impossible to foresee the precise point at which the 
blow would be struck, or to form any probable conjecture of 
the immediate objects of the enemy's enterprise. When Grant's 
transports had succeeded in passing the batteries at Vicksburg, 
he had a river front of more than a hundred miles where he 
could land. The point of his landing having been determined 
at Grand Gulf, it was still uncertain whether he meant to ap- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 271 

preach Yicksburg by the river, under cover of his gunboats, or 
whether he would attempt to circumscribe the place and cut 
our communications east. It subsequently appeared that the 
latter enterprise was selected bj the enemy, and that Jackson 
was the immediate point of attack. 

On the 14th of May the enemy took possession of Jackson. 
Gen. Johnston was intrusted with the active command of the 
Confederate forces in the southwest too late to save those dis- 
astrous results which had already occurred ; and the very first 
step to which he was forced by existing circumstances was the 
evacuation of Jackson. But the enemy's occupation of the 
capital of Mississippi seems to have been but an unimportant 
incident, and it is probable that, even with inferior forces on 
our side, a battle would have been risked' there if Jackson had 
been of greater importance than as a point of railroad in pos- 
session of the enemy. 

Although Gen. Bowen, in the engagement of Port Gibson, 
failed to check the rapid advance of the enemy, it was under- 
stood that he had been able to evacuate in good order his po- 
sition south of the Big Black, and establish a line of defence, 
extending along that stream east from the Mississippi, so as to 
secure Vicksburg against assault from the south. This, the 
main line of our defence, was occupied by Gen. Pemberton 
with heavy reinforcements from Yicksburg. 

On the 16th of May occurred the bloody battle of Baker's 
creek (on the Jackson and Vicksburg road), in which the 
force under Pemberton was defeated, with considerable loss of 
artillery. On the following day the Confederates again sus- 
tained a disaster at Big Black bridge ; and on the 18th Yicks- 
burg was closely invested by the enemy, and the right of his 
army rested on the river above the town. 

It is- probable that it was to give time for reinforcements to 
arrive in the enemy's rear, who, flushed with victory at Grand 
Gulf, Port Gibson, and Jackson, had turned back from the 
latter on the rear defences of Yicksburg, that Gen. Pemberton, 
perhaps unwisely, advanced from his works to meet Grant in 
the open field and hold him in check, and thus, from greatly 
inadequate forces, sufitered the disheartening disasters of Ba- 
ker's creek and Big Black bridge. As a last resort he retired 
behind his works with a weakened and somewhat dispirited 



272 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

but still glorious little army. Tlie unfortunate commander ap- 
peased the clamor against himself by an apparently noble can- 
dor and memorable words of heroism. He said that it had 
been declared that he would sell Vicksburg, and exliorted his 
soldiers to follow him to see the price at which he would sell 
it — for it would not be less than his own life and that of every 
man in his command. Those words were not idle utterances : 
they deserve to be commemorated ; they were heroic only in 
proportion as they were fulfilled and translated into action. 

The events of the 19th, 20th, and 21st of May wearied the 
Yankees, who imagined that they saw in their grasp the palm 
of the Mississippi. So fully assured were they of victory, that 
they postponed it from day to day. To storm the works was 
to take Vicksburg, in their opinion ; and when it was known, 
on the morning of the 21st, that at ten o'clock next morning 
the whole line of Confederate works would be assaulted, the 
credulous and vain enemy accounted success so certain that it 
was already given to the wings of the telegraph. 

Indeed, there is no doubt that at one hour of this famous 
day, McClernand, the Yankee general who made the assault 
on the left, sent a dispatch to Grant that he had taken three 
forts, and would soon be in possession of the city. But the 
success was a deceitful one. The redoubts carried by the en- 
emy brought him within the pale of a devouring fire. At every 
point he was repulsed ; and with reference to completeness of 
victory, exhibitions of a devoted courage, and the carnage ac- 
complished in the ranks of the enemy, these battles of Vicks- 
burg must be accounted among the most famous in the annals 
of the war. 

But despite the discouragements of the repulse, there still 
remained to the enemy the prospects of a siege under circum- 
stances of peculiar and extraordinary advantage. Although 
Grant's attack was made from Grand Gulf, that place was not 
long his base ; and when he gained Haines' Blufi" and the 
Yazoo, all communication with it was abandoned. He was 
enabled to rely on Memphis and the river above Vicksburg for 
food and reinforcements ; his communications were open with 
the entire West ; and the Northern newspapers urgently de- 
manded that the utmost support should be given to a favorite 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 273 

general, and that the Trans-Mississippi should be stripped of 
troops to supply him with reinforcements. 

But the South still entertained hopes of the safety of Yicks- 
burg. It was stated in Kichmond by those who should have 
been Avell informed, that the garrison numbei'ed considerably 
more than twenty thousand men, and was provisioned for a 
siege of six months. Nearly every day the telegraph had 
some extravagance to tell concerning the supreme safety of 
Vicksburg and the confidence of the garrison. The heroic 
promise of Pemberton that the city should not fall until the 
last man had fallen in the last ditch' was called to the popular 
remembrance. The confidence of the South was swollen eyen 
to insolence by these causes ; and although a few of the intel- 
ligent doubted the extravagant assurances of the safety of 
Yrcksburg, the people at large received them with an unhesi- 
tating and exultant faith. 

Under these circumstances the surprise and consternation of 
the people of the South may be imagined, when, without the 
least premonition, the announcement came that the select an- 
niversary of the Fourth of July had been signalized by the 
capitulation of Yicksburg, without a fight; the surrender of 
twenty odd thousand troops as prisoners; and the abandon- 
ment to the Yankees of one of the greatest prizes of artillery 
that had yet been made in the war. The news fell upon Rich- 
mond like a thunder-clap from clear skies. The day of our 
humiliation at Yicksburg had been ill-selected. But it was 
said that Gen. Pemberton was advised that the enemy intended 
to make a formidable assauft on the next day, and that he was 
unwilling to await it with an enfeebled garrison, many of whom 
were too weak to bear arms in their hands. The condition of 
the garrison, although certainly not as extreme as that which 
Pemberton had heroically prefigured as the alternative of sur- 
render, and although holding no honorable comparison with 
the amount of privation and sufifering borne in other sieges re- 
corded in history, was yet deplorable. Our troops had sufiered 
more from exhausting labors than from hunger ; and their 
spirit had been distressed by the melancholy isolation of a siege 
in which they were cut ofl:' from communication with their 
homes, and perhaps by other causes which are not now cer- 
tainly known. Patience is not a virtue of Southern soldiers j 

18 



27-i THE SECOND TKAR OF TBE WAR. 

and for it at least the garrison of Yicksburg will not be con- 
spicuous in history. 

It is not possible at this time to determine the consequences 
of the fall of Yicksburg. That it was the ostensible key to a 
vast amount of disputed teri-itory in the West, and that it in- 
volved a network of important positions, were universally ad- 
mitted in the South. But this estimate of its importance is 
intricate and uncertain, and awaits the development of events. 
The army of Johnston was saved, instead of being risked in 
an attack on Grant's rear at Yicksburg, and is still disputing 
the enemy's encroachment's in the Southwest. We must leave 
its movements to more convenient and future narration. 

But we must recognize the fact of various disasters which 
have immediately ensued from the fall of Yicksburg. It com- 
pelled the surrender of Port Hudson as its necessary conse- 
quence.* It neutralized in a great measure a remarkable series 



* The fall of Port Hudson did not take place until after a prolonged and gal- 
lant resistance, the facts of which may be briefly commemorated here. On the 
morning of the 22d of May, the enemy, under command of Gen. Banks, pushed 
his infantry forward within a mile of our breastworks. Having taken his posi- 
tion for the investment of our works, he advanced with his whole force against 
the breastworks, directing his main attack against the left, commanded by Col. 
Steadman. Vigorous assaults were also made against the extreme left of Col. 
Miles and Gen. Beale, the former of whom commanded on the centre, the latter 
on the right. On the left the attack was made by a brigade of negroes, com- 
posing about three regiments, together Avith the same force of white Yankees 
across a bridge which had been built over Sandy creek. About five hundred 
negroes in front advanced at double-quick within one hundred and fifty yards 
of the works, when the artillery on the river bluff, and two light pieces on our 
left, opened upon them, and at the same time they were received with volleys 
of musketry. The negroes fled every way in perfect con usion, and, according 
to the enemy's report, six hundred of them perished. The repulse on Miles' 
left was decisive. 

On the 13th of June a communication was received from Gen. Banks, de- 
manding the unconditional surrender of the post. He complimented the gar- 
rison in high terms for their endurance. He stated that his artillery was equal 
to any in extent and efficiency ; tliat his men outnumbered ours five to one, 
and that he demanded the surrender in the name of humanity, to prevent a 
useless sacrifice of life. Gen. Gardner replied that his duty required him to de- 
fend the post, and he must refuse to entertain any such proposition. 

On the morning of the 14th, just before day, the fleet and all the land bat- 
teries, which the enemy had succeeded in erecting at one hundred to three hmi- 
dred yards from our breastworks, opened fire at the same time. About day- 
light, under cover of the smoke, the enemy advanced along the whole line, and 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAK. 275 

of successes on the Lower Mississippi, including the victory of 
Gen. Taylor at Ashland, Louisiana, which broke one of the 
points of investment around Yicksburg, and his still more 
glorious achievement in the capture of Brashear City. The 
d?fence of the cherished citadel of the Mississippi had involved 
exposure and weakness in other quarters. It had almost strip- 
ped Charleston of troops ; it had taken many thousand men 
from Bragg's army ; and it had made such requisitions on his 
force for the newly organized, lines in Mississippi, that that 
general was compelled or induced, wisely or unwisely, to fall 
back from Tullahoma, to give up the country on the Memphis 
and Charleston railroad, and practically to abandon the de- 
fence of Middle Tennessee. 

While people in Richmond were discussing the story of 
Yicksburg, the grief and anxiety of that disaster were sud- 
denly swallowed up by what was thought to be even more 

in many places approached -within ten feet of our works. Our brave soldiers 
were wide awake, and, opening upon them, drove them back in confusion, a 
great number of them being left dead in the ditches. One entire division and 
a brigade were ordered to cliarge the position of tlie 1st Mississippi and the 9th 
Alabama, and by the mere physical pressure of numbers some of them got 
within the works, but aU these were immediately killed. After a sharp con- 
test of two hours, the enemy were everywhere repulsed, and withdrew to their 
old lines. 

During the remainder of the month of June, there was heavy skirmishing 
daily, with constant firing night and day from the gun and mortar boats. Du- 
ring the siege of six weeks, from May 27th to July 7th, inclusive, the enemy 
must have fired from fifty to seventy-five thousand shot and shell, yet not more 
than twenty-five men were killed by these projectiles. They had worse dangers 
than these to contend against. * 

About the 29th or 30th of June, the garrison's supply of meat gave out, when 
Gen. Gardner ordered the mules to be butchered, after ascertaining that the 
men were willing to eat them. At the same time the supply of ammunition 
was becoming exhausted, and at the time of the surrender there were only 
twenty rounds of cartridges left, with a small supply for artillery. 

On Tuesday, July 7th, salutes were fired from the enemy's batteries and gun- 
boats, and loud cheering was heard along the entire line, and Yankees who 
were in conversing distance of our men told them that. Vicksburg had fallen. 
That night about ten o'clock Gen. Gardner summoned a council of war, who, 
without exception, decided that it was impossible to hold out longer, consider- 
ing that the provisions of the garrison were exhausted, the ammunition almost 
expended, and a large proportion of the men sick or so exhausted as to be unfit 
for duty. The surrender was accomplished on the morning of the 9th. The 
number of the garrison which surrendered was between five and six thousand, 
of whom not more than half were effective men for duty. 



276 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAB. 

painful news from the army of Gen. Lee. For once it appeared 
to the popular imagination that a great disaster in the West 
had a companion in the East. The fall of Vicksburg was pre- 
ceded but one day by the battle of Gettysburg. To that bat- 
tle-field we must translate the reader by a very rapid summary 
of the operations which led to it. 

THE CAMPAIGN IN PENNSYLVANIA AND MARYLAND. 

By a series of rapid movements, Gen. Lee had succeeded 
in manoeuvring Hooker out of Yirginia. On the extreme left, 
Jenkins with his cavalry, began the movement by threatening 
Milroy at Winchester, while, under the dust of Stuart's noisy 
cavalry reviews, designed to engage the attention of the ene- 
my, Ewell's infantry marched into the valley by way of Front 
Royal. Advancing by rapid marches across the Blue Ridge, 
Gen. Ewell, the successor to Jackson's command, fell like a 
thunder-bolt upon Milroy at Winchester and Martinsburg, 
capturing the greater part of his forces, many guns, and heavy 
supplies of grain, ammunition, and other military stores. The 
Yankees' own account of their disaster indicated the magni- 
tude of our success. The I^ew York Herald declared, " not a 
thing was saved except that which was worn or carried upon 
the persons of the troops. Three entire batteries of field artil- 
lery and one battery of siege guns — all the artillery of the 
command, in fact — about two hundred and eighty wagons, 
over twelve hundred horses and mul'es, all the commissary 
and quartermaster's stores, and ammunition of all kinds, over 
six thousand muskets and small arms without stint, the private 
baggage of the officers and men, all fell into the hands of the 
enemy. Of the seven thousand men of the command, but 
from sixteen hundred to two thousand have as yet arrived 
here, leaving to be accounted for five thousand men." 

After accomplishing his victory at Winchester, Gen. Ewell 
moved promptly up to the Potomac, and occupied such fords 
as we might desire to use, in the event it should be deemed 
proper to advance into the enemy's country. The sudden ap- 
pearance of Ewell in the valley of the Shenandoah, coupled 
with the demonstration at Culpepper, made it necessary for 
Hooker to abandon Fredericksburg entirely, and to occupy the 



THE SECOND YEAH OF THE WAR, 2T7 

strong positions at Centreville and Manassas, so as to inter- 
pose his army between us and Wasliington, and thus prevent 
a sudden descent from the Blue Ridge by Gen. Lee upon the 
Yankee capital. Meanwhile, Longstreet and Hill were follow- 
ing fast upon Ewell's track, the former reaching Ashby's and 
Snicker's Gaps in time to prevent any movement upon Ewell's 
rear, and the latter (Hill) getting to Culpepper in good season 
to protect Longstreet's rear, or to co-operate with him in the 
event of an attack upon his flank, or "to guard against any de- 
monstration in the direction of Richmond. 

Having gained over the Yankee commander the important 
advantage of the military initiative, and firmly established his 
communications in the rear of his base of operations on the 
other side of the Potomac, Gen. Lee was in a position to hurl 
his forces wherever he might desire ; and it was soon announced 
in the North that Hooker had declined a battle in Virginia, 
and that the second invasion of the Northern territory had 
been commenced by the Confederates under auspices that had 
not attended the first. It was soon known that the light horse- 
men of Lee had appeared upon his war path in the southern 
region of Pennsjdvania. For weeks the dashing and adventu- 
rous cavalry of Jenkins and Imboden were persistently busy in 
scouring the country between the Susquehannah and the AUe- 
ghanies, the Monocacy and the Potomac, and from the lines 
before Harrisburg to the very gates of Washington and Balti- 
more their trumpets had sounded. 

The North was thrown into paroxysms of terror. At the 
first news of the invasion, Lincoln had called for a hundred 
thousand men to defend Washington. Governor Andrews of- 
fered the whole military strength of Massachuesetts in the tei"^ 
rible crisis. Governor Seymcur of New York, summoned 
McClellan to grave consultations respecting the defences of 
Pennsylvania. The bells were set to ringing in Brooklyn. 
Regiment after regiment was sent off from New York to Phil- 
adelphia. The famous Seventh regiment took the field and 
proceeded to Harrisburg. The Dutch farmers in the valley 
drove their cattle to the mountains, and the arcliives were, re- 
moved from Harrisburg, 

Nor did the alarm exceed the occasion for it. It was obvi- 
ous to the intelligent in the North that their array of the Po- 



278 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

tomac was the only real obstacle which could impede the 
triumphant march of the army of Lee into the very heart of 
the Yankee States, and in whatever direction he might choose 
to push his campaign. The press attempted some ridiculous 
comfort by writing vaguely of thousands of militia springing 
to arms. But the history of modern warfare aflorded better 
instruction, for it taught clearly enough that an invading army 
of regular and victorious troops could only be effectively 
checked by the resistance of a similar army in the field, or of 
fortified places strong enough to compel a regular siege. In 
certain circumstances, a single battle had often decided the 
fate of a long war ; and the South easily indulging the pros- 
pect of the defeat of Hooker's forces, was elated with renewed 
anticipations of an early peace. 

While the destruction of Hooker's army was the paramount 
object of Gen. Lee's campaign, he had unfortunately fallen 
into the error of attempting to conciliate the people of the 
North and to court the opinions of Europe by forswearing all 
acts of retaliation and omitting even the devastation of the 
enemy's countiy. The fertile acres of the Pennsylvania valley 
were untouched by violent hands ; all requisitions for supplies 
were paid for in Confederate money ; and a protection was given 
to the private property of the enemy, which had never been 
afforded even to that of our own citizens. So far as the orders 
of Gen. Lee on these subjects restrained pillage and private 
outrage, they were sustained by public sentiment in the South, 
which, in fact, never desired that we should retaliate upon the 
Yankees by a precise imitation of their enormities and crimes. 
But retaliation is not only the work of pillagers and marauders. 
Its ends might have been accomplished, as far as the people of 
the South desired, by inflicting upon the enemy some injury 
commensurate with what they had suffered at his hands ; the 
smallest measure of which would have been the devastation of 
the country, which, done by our army in line of battle, would 
neither have risked demoralization nor detracted from disci- 
pline. Such a return for the outrages which the South had 
suffered from invading hordes of the Yankees, would in fact 
have been short of justice, and so far have possessed the merit 
of magnanimity. But Gen. Lee was resolved on more exces- 
sive magnanimity ; and at the time the Yankee armies, par- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 279 

ticularly in the Southwestern portion of the Confederacy, were 
enacting outrages which recalled the darkest days of mediseval 
warfare, our forces in the Pennsylvania valley were protecting 
the private property of Yankees, composing their alarm, and 
making a display of stilted chivalry to the amusement of the 
Dutch farmers and to the intense disgust of our own people.* 

If Gen. Lee had supposed that his moderate warfare would 
conciliate the Yankees, he was greatly mistaken ; for it is pre- 
cisely this warfare which irritates a people without intimidat- 
ing them. The simple object of his campaign appears to have 
been the defeat of Hooker, which would uncover Washington 
and Baltimore. The critical conjuncture which had been so long 
sought was the battle of Gettysburg. 

We must spare here many of the details of those movements 
which brought the two armies in contact, and trust ourselves 
to a brief and general ticcount of this great engagement in 
Pennsylvania, followed, as it is, by a rapid current of events 
there and elsewhere. 



* A letter from our lines in Mississippi thus describes the outrages of the 
enemy there, which were cotemporary with Lee's civilities in Pennsylvania : 

" I thought the condition of Northern Mississippi, and the country around 
my own home in Memphis, deplorable. There robberies were committed, 
houses were burned, and occasionally a helpless man or woman was murdered ; 
but here, around Jackson and Vicksburg, there are no terms used in all the 
calendar of crimes which could convey any adequate conception of the revolt- 
ing enormities perpetrated by our foes. Women have been robbed of their 
jewelry and wearing apparel — stripped almost to nakedness in the presence of 
jeering Dutch ; ear-rings have been torn from their ears, and rings from bleed- 
ing fingers. Every house has been pillaged, and thousands burned. The 
whole country between the Big Black and the Mississippi, and all that district 
through which Grant's army passed, is one endless scene of desolation. This 
is not the worst ; robbery and murder are surely bad enough, but worse than 
all this, women have been subjected to enormities worse than death. 

" Negroes, men and women, who can leave their homes, are forced or enticed 
away. The children alone are left. Barns and all descriptions of farmhouses 
have been burned. All supplies, bacon and flour, are seized for the use of the 
invading army, and the wretched inhabitants left to starve. The roads along 
which Grant's army has moved, are strewn with all descriptions of furniture, 
wearing apparel, and private property. In many instances husbands have been 
arrested and threatened with instant death by the hangman's rope, in order to 
make their wives reveal the places of concealment of their valuable effects. 
The poor women are made to ransom their sons, daughters, and husbands. Th« 
worst slaves are selected to insult, taunt and revile their masters, and the wivew 
and daughters of their masters." 



$80 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Having crossed the Potomac at or near Willi am sport, the 
Confederates marched to Hagerstown, to Greencastle, and 
thence to Chambersburg. Ewell, who held the advance, went 
as far as Carlisle, some twelve miles from Harrisburg. Mean- 
while, Hooker, having withdrawn his forces from Stafford, 
moved to and across the Potomac, and took up a line extend- 
ing from Washington to Baltimore, expecting Gen. Lee to offer 
him battle in Maryland. Finding himself disappointed in this, 
and compelled by pride or by his superiors, he relinquished 
his command to Mead, who, finding out that Lee had deflected 
in his march through Pennsylvania, and was moving down the 
Baltimore turnpike from Chambersburg, moved from Balti- 
more on the same road to meet him. The two armies which 
had ceased to confront each other since the breaking up of the 
Fredericksburg lines, found themselves again face to face near 
Gettysburg, on Wednesday, July 1st. 

The action of the 1st July was brought on by Gen. Reynolds, 
who held the enemy's advance, and who thought himself in 
superior force to the Confederates. He paid the penalty of 
his temerity by a defeat ; he was overpowered and outflanked, 
and fell mortally wounded on the field. 

In this fight the corps of A. P. Hill was generally engaged ; 
but, about one hour after its opening. Gen. Ewell, who was 
moving from the direction of Carlisle, came up and took a po- 
sition on our extreme left. Two divisions of this corps, Rhodes* 
and Early's, advanced upon and engaged the enemy in front. 
Longstreet, who was not engaged in the fight of the first day, 
swung around his column to A. P. Hill's right, but did not 
take position for action until Thursday morning. The result 
of the first day was that the enemy was repulsed at all points 
of the line engaged, and driven over the range of hills to the 
south of Gettysburg, through the town and about half a mile 
beyond. At this point is a mountain which commands the 
ground in front for a mile on all sides. This the enemy re- 
treated to after their repulse, and immediately fortified, their 
line occupying the mountain, and extending on the right and 
left of it. 

The early part of Thursday, the "|igd of July, wore away 
without any positive demonstration of attack on either side. 
Late in the afternoon an artillery attack was made by our 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 281 

forces on the left and centre of the enemy, which was rapidly 
followed by the advance of our infantry, Longstreet's corps on 
our side being principally engaged. A fearful but indecisive 
conflict ensued, and for four hours the sound of musketry was 
incessant. In the fight we lost a number of ofiicers, among 
them Gen. Barksdale of Mississippi, whose brave and generous 
spirit expired, where he preferred to die, on the ensanguined 
field of battle. Of this " haughty rebel," who had fallen within 
their lines, the Yankees told with devilish satisfaction the story 
that his end was that of extreme agony, and his last words 
were to crave as a dying boon a cup of water and a stretcher 
from an ambulance boy. The letter of a Yankee oflacer testi- 
fies that the brave and sufi"ering hero declared with his last 
breath that he was proud of the cause he died fighting for ; 
proud of the manner in which he received his death ; and con- 
fident that his countrymen were invincible. 

The third day's battle was commenced by the Confederates. 
The enemy's position on the mountain was apparently impreg- 
nable, for there was no conceivable advance or approach that 
could not be raked and crossed with the artillery. The reserve 
artillery and all the essentials to insure victory to the Yankees 
were in position at the right time. All the heights and every 
advantageous position along the entire line where artillery 
could be massed or a battery planted, frowned down on the 
Confederates through brows of brass and iron. On the slopes 
of this mountain occurred one of the most terrific combats of 
modern times, in which three hundred cannon were belching 
forth their thunders at one time, and nearly two hundred 
thousand muskets were being discharged as rapidly as men 
hurried with excitement and passion could load them. 

The battle of Friday had commenced early in the morning. 
With the exception from ten o'clock in the morning to one in 
the afternoon, it lasted all day. The Confederates did not suc- 
ceed in holding any of the crests, although one or two were 
reached ; and night again closed on the smoke-wrapped field. 

The most glorious incident of Gettysburg, and the one upon 
which the eye of history will beam, was the charge of our 
devoted men upon the deadly heights where turned the tide of 
battle. The principal stronghold of the enemy was known as 
McPherson's heights, where his centre rested. In Thursday's 



282 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

fight this important position had for a short time been in pos- 
session of a single one of our brigades — Wright's noble Geor- 
gians — who had charged it with the bayonet and captured the 
heavy batteries on the crest, but were unable to hold it for 
want of timely support. 

In Friday's contest, a more formidable and elaborate attempt 
was to be made to wrest from the enemy the crest which was 
the key of his position. Pickett's division being in the ad- 
vance, was supported on the right by Wilson's brigade, and on 
the left by Heth's division, commanded by Pettigrew. The 
steady movement of Pickett's men into the tempest of fire and 
steel, against a mountain bristling with guns, had nothing to 
exceed it in sublimity on any of the battle-fields of the revolu- 
tion. Into the sheets of artillery fire advanced the unbroken 
lines of our men. The devoted Confederates are struggling 
not only against the enemy's artillery, but against a severe fire 
from heavy masses of his infantry, posted behind a stone fence. 
But nothing checks their advance ; they storm the fence, they 
shoot the gunners, and Kemper's and Armistead's banners are 
already planted on the enemy's works. 

There is no doubt but that at this auspicious moment a 
proper amount of support to Pickett would have secured his 
position, and carried the fortunes of the day. But that sup- 
port was not at hand. Pettigrew's 'division had faltered, and 
that gallant commander in vain strove to rally the raw troops. 
In the mean time, the enemy had moved around strong flank- 
ing bodies of infantry, and was rapidly gaining Pickett's rear. 
With overwhelming numbers in our front, almost hemmed in 
by the enemy, the order is given to fall back. The retreating 
line is pressed heavily. It does not give way ; but many noble 
spirits who had passed safely through the fiery ordeal of the 
advance and charge, now fall on the right and on the left. 

In this great battle, though unfavorable to us, the enemy's 
loss probably exceeded our own, as the Yankees were closely 
crowded on the hills, and devoured by our artillery fire. The 
information of the enemy's loss is perhaps most accurately ob- 
tained from the bulletin furnished by his Surgeon -general, 
which stated, that he had something over 12,000 Yankees 
wounded under his control. Counting one killed for four 
wounded, and making some allowance for a large class of 



THE SECOND TKAR OF THE WAK. 283 

wounded men who had not come under the control of the 
official referred to, we are justified in stating the enemy's loss, 
in casualties at Gettysburg, as somewhere between fifteen and 
eighteen thousand. Our loss, slighter by many thousands in 
comparison, was yet frightful enough. On our side, Pickett's 
division had been engaged in the hottest work of the day, and' 
the havoc in its ranks was appalling. Its losses on this day 
are famous, and should be commemorated in detail. Every 
brigadier in the division was killed or wounded. Out of 
twenty-four regimental officers, only two escaped unhurt. The 
colonels of five Yirginia regiments were killed. The 9th Vir- 
ginia went in two hundred and fifty strong, and came out with 
only thirty-eight men, while the equally gallant 19th rivalled 
the terrible glory of such devoted courage. 

The recoil at Gettysburg was fatal, not necessarily, but by 
the course of events, to Gen. Lee's campaign ; and the return 
of his army to its defensive lines in Virginia, was justly re- 
garded in the South as a reverse in the general fortunes of the 
contest. Yet the immediate results of the battle of Gettys- 
burg must be declared to have been to a great extent negative. 
The Confederates did not gain a victory, neither did the enemy. 
The general story of the contest is simple. Lee had been 
unable to prevent the enemy from taking the highlands, many 
of them with very steep declivities, and nearly a mile in slope. 
The battle was an eifort of the Confederates to take those 
heights. The right flank, the left flank, the centre, were suc- 
cessively the aim of determined and concentrated assaults. 
The Yankee lines were broken and driven repeatedly. But 
inexhaustible reserves, and a preponderant artillery, advan- 
tageously placed, saved them from rout. 

The first news received in Richmond of Gen. Lee's retreat 
was from Yankee sources, which represented his army as a dis- 
organized mass of fugitives, unable to cross the Potomac on 
account of recent floods, and at the mercy of an enemy im- 
mensely superior in numbers and flushed with victory. This 
news and that of the fall of Vicksburg reached the Confeder- 
ate capital the same day. Twenty -four hours served to dash 
the hope of an early peace, and to overcloud the horizon of the 
war. The temptation of despair was again whispered to weak 
minds. It was the second period of great disaster to the 



284- THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAJR. 

South, and renewed a grief similar to what had been expended 
a year ago upon the sorrowful stories of Donelson and New 
Orleans. 

But happily in this instance the public despondency was of 
short duration. A few days brought news from our lines, which 
exploded the falsehoods of the Yankees, and assured the people 
of the South that the engagements of Gettysburg had resulted 
in worsting the enemy, in killing and wounding a number ex- 
ceeding our own, and in the capture of a large number of 
prisoners. The public was yet further satisfied that the fall- 
ing back of our army, at least as far as Hagerstown, was a 
movement dictated by general considerations of strategy and 
prudence. It consoled itself that the subsequent retirement of 
our forces into Virginia was the excess of safety ; and it found 
reason for congratulation that the retreat of Lee to his old 
lines was accomplished with a dexterity and success that foiled 
the enemy, and disappointed the greater portion of his tri- 
umph. 

But notwithstanding these causes of moderate thankfulness, 
it must be confessed that the retreat from Hagerstown across 
the Potomac was an inconsequence and a mystery to the intel- 
ligent public. Lee's position there was strong ; his force was 
certainly adequate for another battle ; preparations were made 
for aggressive movements; and in the midst of all came a 
sudden renouncement of the campaign, and the retreat into 
Yirginia. The history of this untimely retreat has not been 
developed ; but there is one fact to assist the explanation of it, 
and that is that the authorities at Richmond were much more 
alarmed than Gen. Lee, and much less capable than the com- 
mander himself of judging the military situation from which 
his army was recalled. The troops availed themselves of no 
other refuge than that of their own soil ; they had not been 
defeated or seriously worsted ; and so far the public had 
its secondary wish for the safety of the army. But this did 
not exclude mortification on the part of those who believed that 
Gen. Lee had abandoned the enemy's territory, not as a conse- 
quence of defeat, but from the undue timidity or the arrogant 
disposition of the authorities who controlled him. The grounds 
of such a belief are not certainly stated; but its existence in 
the public mind is a fact to be recognized by the historian, and 



THE SKCOKD TEAR OF THE WAR. 285 

to be determined by evidence, when time and occasion shall 
produce it. 

********** 

The check at Gettysburg and the fall of Yicksburg, which 
we have seized upon as the prominent events of the summer of 
1863, and of which we hope hereafter, in another volume, to 
give a more minute and faithful account, in connection with 
many contemporary or closely consequent events, which are 
here omitted, afford a natural pause in which we may well 
review the events of the revolution, and speculate on its distant 
or ultimate future. 

The disasters to which we have briefly referred, although 
considerable, were far from being desperate, and were scarcely 
occasions of any serious alarm in the South, as to the ultimate 
issue of the struggle. The military condition of the country 
was certainly far better than at the former unhappy period of 
the spring of 1862. Then our armies were feeble, and, in a 
great measure, disorganized ; the conscription law had not gone 
into operation, and our reduced forces were scattered along an 
extended frontier. ISTow well-disciplined and seasoned armies 
hold with compact forces the critical positions in the Confed- 
eracy. The loss of territory, which in a European campaign, 
where inland fortresses and great cities give convenient foot- 
holds to an invading army, would have been estimated as a 
fatal disadvantage, had a very different signification in a war 
between the two great American powers. Indeed it may be 
said that the armies of our enemy scarcely did more than hold 
the ground they stood upon, and that in a war now passing 
into its third year, they had failed to touch the vitals of the 
Confederacy. The temporary cession of large bodies of terri- 
tory to them, was really to their disadvantage in military re- 
spects; for it occasioned the necessity of extending their lines 
of communication, exposing their rear, and subjecting them- 
selves, on every side, to the dangers of a hostile country, where 
there were no great fortresses or citadels to protect them. 

But it must be confessed that there were to be found at this 
time but few subjects of congratulation in the internal condi- 
tion of the Confederacy. The civil administration, in many of 
the departments, was ignorant, defective, and, in some in- 
stances, oppressive. The appendage of Congress might well 



286 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

have been dispensed with in our revolution, for it accomplished 
nothing; all its legislation was patch-work, and its measures 
but the weak echoes of the newspapers. The extraordinary 
cabinet of Mr. Davis still survived as a ridiculous cipher ; for 
its members never dared to raise their voices on any public 
measure, or to assert their existence beyond signing their names 
to certify the laws and orders of the government, or the will of 
the President. 

The military pragmatism of the President was his worst fail- 
ing. He had treated Price, among the earliest heroes of the 
war, with cold and insolent neglect. He had constrained Gus- 
tavus Smith to resign, and deprived the country of one of its 
most brilliant generals. He had taken the unfair opportunity 
of a sick furlough on the part of Beauregard, to deprive him 
of his command in the West and give it to a favorite. He 
had even attempted to put Jackson in leading-strings ; for it 
was the Presidential order that set bounds to his famous Win- 
chester expedition, end that would have timidly recalled him 
from his splendid campaign in the valley. Nor was this all. 
There was reason to suppose that Lee's return from the terri- 
tory of the North was constrained by the views of the Execu- 
tive, and that the President, who had once defeated the cap- 
ture of Washington, by his interference at the first field of 
Manassas, had again repeated his intermeddling, removed a 
decisive victory from the grasp of our army, and turned back 
the war for years. 

While such was the envious or ignorant interference of the 
President with our most meritorious generals, he was not with- 
out favorites. While he quarrelled with such men as Price, 
Beauregard, Gustavus Smith, and Johnston, he maintained 
such favorites as Holmes, Heth, Lovell, and Pemberton. No 
pian was ever more sovereign in his likes and dislikes. Favor- 
ites were elevated to power, and the noblest spirits consigned 
to obscurity by the fiat of a single man in the Confederacy, 
and that man one of the strongest prejudices, the harshest ob- 
stinacy, and the most ungovernable fondness for parasites. 

In this war Mr. Davis has evidently been anxious to appear 
in the eyes of Europe as the military genius of the Confederacy, 
as well as the head of its civil administration. He has been 
careless of public opinion at home. But this has been no proof 



THE SECOND YEAE OF THE WAK. 287 

of stoicism or of greatness ; it has merely shown his conceit to 
be in a different direction. This conceit has been that of 
"provincialism" — the courting of that second-hand public 
opinion which is obtained from the politicians and journalists 
of Europe ; the bane of political and civil society in the South, 
No man of equal public station on this continent has ever 
courted the opinions of Europe more assiduously than the 
President of this Confederacy. The proclamations of the Ex- 
ecutive, the general orders of the army, the pronunciamentoes 
of chivalry which have denied the rights of retaliation, bilked 
the national conscience, and nursed a viperous enemy with the 
milk of kindness, have all been composed with an eye to Eu- 
ropean effect. Compromises of dignity and self-respect have 
been made to conciliate foreign nations. Consuls drawing their 
exequaturs from the Washington government — a standing dero- 
gation to the Confederacy wh^ch has received them — have been 
sheltered and endured here ; and Europe, which denies our 
rights over our territory, has received at our hands the safety 
of her citizens. 

We have referred in other pages to the low condition of the 
finances of the Confederacy in the opening months of this year. 
It had since declined much further. In February, 1862, Presi- 
dent Davis had made the most extravagant congratulations to 
the country on our financial condition, and pointed with an 
air of triumph to the failing fortunes of the enemy's treasury. 
In less than eighteen months thereafter, when gold was quoted 
in New York at twenty-five per cent, premium, it was selling 
in Richmond at nine hundred per cent, premium ! Such have 
been the results of the financial wisdom of the Confederacy, 
dictated by the President, who advised Congress to authorize 
illimitable issues of treasury notes, and aggravated, no doubt, 
by the ignorance of his Secretary, who invented a legerdemain 
of funding which succeeded not only in depreciating the cur- 
rency, but also in dishonoring the government. 

The experiments of Mr. Memminger on the currency was 
the signal of multiplied and rapid depreciation. While the 
eccentric and pious Secretary was figuring out impossible 
schemes of making money, or ransacking the bookstores for 
works on religious controversy, unprincipled brokers in the 
Confederacy were undermining the currency with a zeal for 



288 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR, 

the destruction of their country not less than that of the Yan- 
kees. The assertion admits of some qualification. Sweeping, 
remarks in history are generally unjust. Among those en- 
gaged in the business of banking and exchange in the South, 
there were undoubtedly some enlightened and public-spirited 
men, who had been seduced by the example or constrained by 
the competition of meaner and more avaricious men of the 
same profession, to array themselves against the currency, and 
to commit offences from which they would have shrunk in hor- 
ror, had they not been disguised by the casuistry of commerce 
and gain. 

It was generally thought in the South reprehensible to re- 
fuse the national currency in the payment of debts. Yet the 
broker, who demanded ten dollars in this currency for one in 
gold, really was guilty of nine times refusing the Confederate 
money. It was accounted shocking for citizens in the South 
to speculate in soldiers' clothing and bread. Yet the broker, 
who demanded nine or ten prices for gold, the representative 
of all values, speculated alike in every necessary in the coun- 
try. Kor was this the greatest of their offences. "With unsur- 
passed shamelessness brokers in the Confederacy exposed the 
currency of the I^orth for sale, and demanded for it four hun- 
dred per cent, premium over that of the Confederacy ! This 
act of benefit to the Yankees was openly allowed by the gov- 
ernment. A bill had been introduced in Congress to prohibit 
this traflic, and to extirpate this infamous anomaly in our his- 
tory ; but it failed of enactment, and its failure can only be at- 
tributed to the grossest stupidity, or to sinister influences of 
the most dishonorable kind. The traffic was immensely prof- 
itable. State bonds and bank bills to the amount of many 
millions were sent North by the brokers, and the rates of dis- 
count were readily submitted to when the returns were made 
in Yankee paper money, which, in the Richmond shops, was 
worth in Confederate notes five dollars for one. 

One-^but only one — cause of the depreciation of the Con- 
federate currency was illicit trade. It had done more to 
demoralize the Confederacy than any thing else. The inception 
of this trade was easily winked at by the Confederate authori- 
ties ; it commenced with paltry importations across the Poto- 
mac ; it was said that the country wanted medicines, surgical 




r. n M 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR, 289 

instruments, arid a number of trifles, and that trade with the 
Yankees in these could result in no serious harm. But by 
the enlarged license of the government it soon became an in- 
famy and a curse to the Confederacy. "What was a petty traflSc 
in its commencement soon expanded into a shameless trade, 
which corrupted the patriotism of the country, constituted an 
anomaly in the history of belligerents, and reflected lasting 
disgrace upon the honesty and good sense of our government. 
The country had taken a solemn resolution to burn the cotton 
in advance of the enemy ; but the conflagration of this staple 
soon came to be a rare event ; instead of being committed to 
the flames it was spirited to Yankee markets. Nor were these 
operations always disguised. Some commercial houses in the 
Confederacy counted their gains by millions of dollars since 
the war, through the favor of the government in allowing 
them to export cotton at pleasure. The beneficiaries of this 
trade contributed freely to public charities and did certain 
favors to the government ; but their gifts were but the parings 
of immense gains ; and often those who were named by weak 
and credulous people or by interested flatterers as public- 
spirited citizens and patriotic donors, were, in fact, the most 
unmitigated extortioners and the vilest leeches on the body 
politic. 

In this war we owe to the cause of truth some humiliating 
confessions. Whatever diminution of spirit there may have 
been in the South since the commencement of her struggle, it 
has been on the part of those pretentious classes of the 
wealthy, who, in peace, were at once the most zealous " seces- 
sionists," and the best customers of the Yankees, and who 
now, in war, are naturally the sneaks and tools of the enemy. 
The cotton and sugar planters of the extreme South who prior 
to the war were loudest for secession, were at the same time 
known to buy every article of their consumption in Yankee 
markets, and to cherish an ambition of shining in the society 
of Northern hotels. It is not surprising that many of these 
affected patriots have found congenial occupation in this war 
in planting in copartnership with the enemy, or in smuggling 
cotton into his lines. The North is said to have obtained in 
the progress of this war, from the Southwest and Charleston, 
enough cotton at present prices to uphold its whole system of 

19 



290 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

cin'rency — a damning testimony of the avarice of the planter. 
Yet it is nothing more than a convincing proof, in general, that 
property, though very pretentions of patriotism, when identi- 
fied with selfishness, is one of the most weak and cowardly 
things in revolutions and the first to succumb under the hor- 
rors of war. 

It is pleasing to turn from the exhibition of ignorance and 
weakness in the government, and the vile passions of its 
favorites, to the contemplation of that patriotic spirit which 
yet survives in the masses of the people and keeps alive the 
sacred animosities of the war. "We rejoice to believe that the 
masses are not only yet true, but that a haughtier and fiercer 
spirit than ever animates the demand of our people for inde- 
pendence, and insures their efforts to obtain it. The noble 
people and army wlio have sustained and fought this war will 
have cause to rejoice. Society in the South is being upheaved 
by this war, and with our independence will be re-established 
on new orders of merit. The insolent and pampered slave- 
holding interest of the South ; the planters' aristocracy, blown 
with conceit and vulgar airs of patronage ; the boast of lands 
and kin, give way before new aspirants to honor. The repub- 
lic gives new titles to greatness. Many of those who were 
esteemed great politicians before the war, are now well-ni^h 
forgotten. The honors of State, the worship of society, the 
rewards of affection, are for the patriots of the revolution that 
will date our existence. Such are the great prizes, intertwined 
with that of independence, which stir our people and army 
with noble desires and beckon them to victory. 

It is not only in the present external situation of the war 
that encouragement is to be found for the South. With con- 
siderable additions to her material elements of success, the 
South has in the second year of the war abated none of that 
moral resolution which is the vital and essential principle of 
victory, whatever co-operation and assistance it may derive 
from external conditions. That resolution has been strength- 
ened by recent developments ; for as the war has progressed, 
the enemy has made a full exposure of his cruel and savage 
purposes, and has indicated consequences of subjugation more 
terrible than death. 

He has, by the hideous array of the instruments of torture 



THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 291 

which he has prepared for a new inauguration of his authority 
among those who have disputed it, not only excited the zeal of 
a devoted patriotism to war with him, but has summoned even 
the mean but strong passions of selfishness to oppose him. 
The surrender to an enemy as base as the Yankee, might well 
attract the scorn of the world, and consign the South to de- 
spair. The portions of such a fate for the South are gibbets, 
confiscation, foreign rule, the tutelage of New England, the 
outlawry of the negro, the pangs of universal poverty, and the 
contempt of mankind. 

War is a thing of death, of mutilation and fire ; but it has 
its law of order ; and when that law is not observed, it fails in 
effecting the purpose for which it is waged, and the curse it 
would inflict recoils upon itself. It is remarkable in the pres- 
ent war, that the policy of the Washington government has 
been an increase in every feature of the first cause of the re- 
volt. But this has been fortunate for the South. The con- 
sequences of such despotic and savage violences, as the eman- 
cipation proclamation, the arming of slaves, and the legali- 
zation of plunder, have been the grovfth of new hostility 
to the Union, and an important and obvious vindication to 
the world of the motives of the South, and the virtues of her 
cause. 

Regarding the condition of events in which this record closes ; 
the broad lustre of victories covering the space of so many 
months ; the numbers of our forces in the field, unequalled at 
any other period of the war ; and the spirit animated by the 
recollections of victorious arms, and stung by the fresh cruel- 
ties of an atrocious enemy, we may well persuade ourselves 
that there is no such word as "fail" in this struggle. Even 
beneath the pall of disaster, there is no place for such a word. 
The banners of the Confederacy do not bear the mottoes and 
devices of a doubtful contest. That brave phrase we may apply 
to ourselves, which is the law of progress and success ; which 
summons the energies of mankind and works out the problems 
of human existence ; which is at once an expression of the will 
of the Creator, and the power of the creature ; and which 
beautifully harmonizes the dispensations of Providence with 
the agency of men — " Fortuna Fortibds." 



292 THB SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 



CHAPTER Xni. 



0^ 



REVIEW — POLITICAL IDEAS IN THE NORTH, &0. 

The Dogma of Numerical Majorities. — Its Date in the Yankee Mind. — Demoraliza- 
tion of the Idea of the Sovereignty of Numbers. — Experience of Minorities in Ameri- 
can Politics. — Source of the Doctrine of " Consolidation." — The Slavery Question the 
logical Result of Consolidation. — Another Aspect of Consolidation in the Tariff. — 
Summary of the Legislation on the Tariff. — A Yankee Picture of the Poverty of the 
South. — John C. Calhoun. — President Davis' Opinion of his School of Politics. — 
"Nullification," as a Union Measure. — Mr. Webster's "Four Exhaustive Proposi- 
tions." — The True Interpretation of the Present Struggle of the South. — The North- 
ern Idea of the Sovereignty of Numbers. — Its Results in this War. — President Lin- 
coln's OlBce. — The Revenge of the Yankee Congress upon the People. — The easy 
Surrender of their Liberties by the Yankees. — Lincoln and Cromwell. — Explanation 
of the Political Subserviency in the North. — Superficial Political Education of the 
Yankee. — His "Civilization." — The Moral Nature of the Yankee unmasked by the 
War. — His new Political System. — Burnside's " Death Order." — A Bid for Confeder- 
ate Scalps. — A new Interpretation of the War. — The North as a Parasite. — The Foun- 
dations of the National Independence of the South. — Present Aspects of the War. — 
Its external Condition and Morals. — The Spirit of the South and the Promises of the 
Future. 

The chief value of history is the moral discoveries it makes. 
What is discovered in the records of the old Union and the 
events of the present war, of that portion of the American 
people commonly known as the Yankees, furnishes not only 
food for curiosity, but a valuable fund of philosophy. 

In exploring the character and political experience of the 
people of the North, much of what is generally thought t-o be 
a confusion of vices may be traced to the peculiar idea that 
people have of the nature and offices of government. Their 
idea of government may be briefly stated as the sovereignty of 
nuTYibers. This conception of political authority is of no late 
date with the people of the North ; it came in their blood and 
in their traditions for centuries ; it was part of the Puritanical 
idea ; it was manifest in the Revolution of 1776 (the issues of 
which were saved by the conservatism of the South) ; and it is 
to-day exhibited in the passionate and despotic populace that 
wages war upon the Confederacy. 

The peculiarities of this idea of government are very inter- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAB. 293 

esting, and its consequences are visible in every part and fibre 
of the society of the North. It excludes all the elements of 
virtue an(J wisdom in the regulation of political authority ; it 
regards numbers as the great element of free government ; it 
represents a numerical majority as infallible and omnipotent ; 
and it gives opportunity to the flattery of demagogues to pro- 
claim the divine rights and sagacity of numbers, and to de- 
nounce all constitutions which restrict liberty as most un- ' 
righteous inventions. 

It is unnecessary to comment at length upon the error and 
coarseness of this idea of government. According to the in- 
terpretation of the Yankees, the body politic ought simply to 
have a political organization to bring out and enforce the will 
of the majority ; and such an organization was supposed to be 
the general government made by our forefathers. But while 
it is unnecessary to discuss the fallacy of this view, it is enter- 
taining and instructive to observe the train of demoralization 
it introduced into the society of the North and the conse- 
quences it involved. 

The Northern idea of government was materialistic ; it de- 
graded political authority, because it despoiled it of its moral 
offices and represented it as an accident determined by a com- 
parison of numbers. It destroyed the virtue of minorities ; 
compelled them to servile acquiescence ; and explains that 
constant and curious phenomenon in much of American poli- 
tics — the rapid absorption of minorities after the elections. It 
laid the foundations of a despotism more terrible than that of 
any single tyrant; destroyed moral courage in the people; 
broke down all the barriers of conservatism ; and substituted 
the phrase, " the majority must govern^'' for the conscience and 
justice of society. 

This idea, carried out in the early political government of 
America, soon attained a remarkable development. This 
development was the absurd doctrine of CoNsoLroATioN. It 
denied the rights of the States ; refused to interpret the Union 
from the authority of contemporaries, or from the nature of the 
circumstances in which it was formed, or from the objects 
which it contemplated ; and represented it as a central political 
organization to enforce the divine pleasure of a numerical 
majority. The Union was thus converted, though with diffi- 



294: THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

culty, into a remorseless despotism, and the various and con- 
flicting interests and pursuits of one of the vastest political 
bodies in the world were intrusted to the arrogant and reckless 
majority of numbers. 

The slavery question was the logical and inevitable result of 
Consolidation. It is remarkable how many minds in America 
have proceeded on the supposition that this agitation was acci- 
•dental, and have distracted themselves with the foolish inquiry 
why the Yankees assailed the domestic institutions of the South, 
while they neglected to attack the similar institutions of Cuba 
and Brazil. These minds do not appreciate the fact that the 
slavery agitation was a necessity of the Northern theory of 
government. Duty is the correlative of power; and if the 
government at Washington in Yankee estimation was a con- 
solidated organization, with power to promote the general 
welfare by any means it might deem expedient, it was proper 
that it should overthrow the hated institution of slavery in 
the South. The central government was responsible for its 
continuance or existence, in proportion to its power over it. 
Under these circumstances, the duty of acting upon the sub- 
ject of slavery was imperious, and amounted to a moral ne- 
cessity. 

But the slavery agitation was not the only remarkable con- 
sequence of the Northern idea of the divine rights of ma- 
jorities. It may be said that every political maxim of the 
North has its practical and selfish application as well as its 
moral and sentimental aspect. The same idea of the power of 
numerical majorities that kindled the slavery disputes, gave 
birth to the tariff and other schemes of legislation, to make the 
Southern minority subservient and profitable to those who were 
their masters by the virtue of numbers. * 

The slavery and tariff issues are singularly associated in 
American politics ; for one at least was an important auxiliary 
to the other. It was necessary for the Northern people to 
make their numerical power available to rule the Union ; and 
as slavery was strictly a sectional interest, it only had to be 
made the criterion of the parties at the North to unite this 
section and make it master of the Union. When the power of 
the North could thus be united, it was easy to carry out its 
measures of sectional ambition, encroachment, and aggrandize- 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR, 295 

ment. The history of the enormous despotism of Yankee 
tariffs is easily summed up. 

The war of 1812 left the United States with a debt of one 
hundred and thirty millions. To provide for the payment of 
this debt, heavy duties were laid on foreign goods ; and as in 
the exigencies of the war some home manufactures had sprung 
up,, which were usefnl and deserving, and which were in dan- 
ger of sinking under foreign competition, on the return of peace 
it was proposed to regulate the tariff so as to afford them some 
assistance. Protection was an incidental feature in the tariff 
of 1816, and as such was zealously recommended even by John 
C. Calhoun, who was a conspicuous advocate of the bill. But 
the principle of protection once admitted, maintained its hold 
and enlarged its demands. In the tariffs of 1820, '24, and '28, 
it was successively carried further ; the demand of the North 
for premiums to its manufacturtng interests becoming more 
exacting and insolent. 

In 1831 the public debt had been so far diminished as to 
render it certain that, at the existing rate of revenue, in three 
years the last dollar would be paid. The government had 
been collecting about twice as much revenue as its usual ex- 
penditures required, and it was calculated that if the existing 
tariff' continued in operation, there would be, after three years, 
an annual surplus in the treasury of twelve or thirteen millions. 
Under these circumstances, the reduction of the tariff was a 
plain matter of justice and prudence ; but it was resisted by 
the North with brazen defiance. Unfortunately, Mr. Clay was 
weak enough to court popularity in the North by legislative 
bribes, and it was mainly through his exertions that enough 
was saved of the protection principle to satisfy the rapacity of 
the Yankee ; for which the statesman of Kentucky enjoyed a 
brief and indecent triumph in the North. 

As an engine of oppression of the South, the tariff did its 
work well; for it not only impoverished her, but fixed on her 
a badge of inferiority, which was an unfailing mark for Yankee 
derision. The South had no great cities. Their growth was 
paralyzed, and they were scarcely more than the suburbs of 
Northern cities. The agricultural productions of the South 
were the basis of the foreign commerce of the United States; 
yet Southern cities did not carry it on. The resources of this 



296 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

unhappy part of the country were taxed for the benefit of the 
Northern people^ and for forty years every tax imposed by 
Congress was laid with a view of subserving the interests of 
the North. 

The blight of such legislation on the South was a source ol 
varied gratification to the Yankee ; especially that it gave him 
the conceit that the South was an inferior. The contrast be- 
tween the slow and limited prosperity of the South and thft 
swift and noisy progress of the North, was never more remark- 
able than at the period of the great tarifi" controversy of 1831-2. 
The condition of the country at this time is described by Par- 
ton, the Yankee biographer of Andrew Jackson, with flippant 
self-complacency. He says : 

" The North was rushing on like a Western high-pressure 
steamboat, with rosin in the furnace, and a man on the safety- 
valve. All through Westerft New York, Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois, the primeval wilderness was vanishing like a mist, and 
towns were springing into existence with a rapidity that ren- 
dered necessary a new map every month, and spoiled the gazet- 
teers as fast as they were printed. The city of New York 
began already to feel itself the London of the New World, and 
to calculate how many years must elapse before it would be 
the London of the world. 

" Tlie South meanwhile was depressed and anxious. Cotton 
was down, tobacco was down. Corn, wheat, and pork were 
down. For several years the chief products of the South had 
either been inclining downward, or else had risen in price too 
slowly to make up for the (alleged) increased price of the com- 
modities which the South was compelled to buy. Few new 
towns changed the Southern map. Charleston languished, or 
seemed to languish, certainly did not keep pace with New York, 
Boston, and Philadelphia. No Cincinnati of the South became 
the world's talk by the startling rapidity of its growth. No 
Southern river exhibited at every bend and coyne of vantage 
a rising village. No Southern mind, distracted with the im- 
possibility of devising suitable names for a thousand new places 
per annum, fell back in despair upon the map of the Old World, 
and selected at random any convenient name that presented 
itself, bestowing upon clusters of log huts such titles as Utica, 
Rome, Palermo, Naples, Russia, Egypt, Madrid, Paris, Elba> 



THE SECOND YEAE OF THE WAR. 297 

and Berlin. 'No Southern commissioner, compelled to find 
names for a hundred streets at once, had seized upon the letters 
of the alphabet and the figures of arithmetic, and called the 
avenues A, B, C, and D, and instead of naming his cross streets, 
numbered them." 

For forty years the North reaped the fruits of partial legis- 
lation, while the South tasted the bitterness of oppression. 
,The shoemakers, the iron men, the sailmakers, and the cotton 
and woollen spinners in the North, clamored for protection 
against their English, Swedish, and Kussian competitors, and 
easily obtained it. The South paid duties vipon all articles 
that the tariff kept out of the country ; but these duties, in- 
stead of going into the treasury as revenue, went into the 
purses of manufacturers as bounty. After paying this tribute 
money to the North, the South had then to pay her quota for 
the support of the government. The North, for there was per- 
fect free trade between the States, had a preference over all the 
world for its wares in the markets of the South. This prefer- 
ence amounted to 20 or 30, or 40 or 50 per cent., and even 
more, according to the article and the existing tariff. It ex- 
tended over a country having twelve millions of customers. 
The sum of the Yankee profits out of the tariff was thus enor- 
mous. Had the South submitted to the "Morrill tariff," it 
would have exacted from her something like one hundred mil- 
lion dollars as an annual tribute to the North. But submission 
has some final period, and the South has no longer a lot in the 
legislation at Washington. 

In the tariff controversy of 1831-2, we find the premoni- 
tions of the present revolution. It is a curious circumstance 
that in the excitement of that period some medals were se- 
cretly struck, bearing the inscription, " John C. Calhoun, 
First President of the Southern Confederacy." The name of 
the new power was correctly told. But the times were not 
ripe for a declaration of Southern independence, and even the 
public opinions of Mr. Calhoun resisted the suggestion of a dis- 
solution of the Union. 

The " nullification" doctrine of the statesmen of North Caro- 
lina, is one of the most interesting political studies of America ; 
for it illustrates the long and severe contest in the hearts of the 
Southern people between devotion to the Union and the sense 



298 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of wrong and injustice. Mr. Callioun either did not dare 
to offend the popular idolatry, or was sincerely attached to the 
Union ; but at the same time he was deeply sensible of the 
oppression it devolved upon the South. Nullification was 
simply an attempt to accommodate these two facts. It pro- 
fessed to find a remedy for the grievances of States without 
disturbing the Union ; and the nullification of an unconstitu- , 
tional law within the local jurisdiction of a State, was proposed _ 
as the process for referring the matter to some constitutional 
tribunal other than the Supreme Court, whose judgments should 
be above all influences of political party. It was a crude 
scheme, and only remarkable as a sacrifice to that peculiar 
idolatry in American politics which worshipped the name of 
the Union. 

The present President of tlie Southern Confederacy — Mr. 
Jefferson Davis — has referred to the political principles of Mr. 
Callioun, in some acute remarks made on the interesting occa- 
sion of his farewell to the old Senate at Washington. He says ; 

"A great man, who now reposes with his fathers, and who 
has often been arraigned for a want of fealty to the Union, 
advocated the doctrine of nullification, because it preserved the 
Union. It was because of his deep-seated attachment to the 
Union, his determination to find some remedy for existing ills 
short of a severance of the ties which bound South Carolina to 
the other States, that Mr. Calhoun advocated the doctrine of 
nullification, which he proclaimed to be peaceful ; to be within 
the limits of State power, not to disturb the Union, but only to 
be the means of bringing the agent before the tribunal of 
the States for their judgment." * 

In defending, in the speech referred to, the action of the 
State of Mississippi in separating herself from the Union, Mr. 
Davis remarks with justice, that Secession belongs to another 
class of remedies than that proposed by the great South Caro- 
linian, The Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1798, long 
the political text of the South, bore the seeds of the present 
revolution, for they laid the foundation for the right of seces- 
sion in the sovereignty of the States ; and Mr. Calhoun's de- 
duction from them of his doctrine of nullification was narrow 
and incomplete. 

But we shall not renew here vexed political questions. "We 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 299 

have referred at some length to the details of the old United 
States' tariffs and the incidental controversies of parties, be- 
cause we shall find here a peculiar development of the political 
ideas of the North. To all the ingenious philosophy of State 
rights ; to the disquisitions of Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Tyler ; to 
the discussions of the moral duties of tlie government, the 
North had but one invariable reply, and that was the sover- 
eignty of the will of the majority. It recognized no sovereign 
but numbers, and it was thought to be a sufficient defence of 
the tariff and other legislation unequal to the South, that it was 
the work and the will of the majority. 

It was during the agitation of the tariff that the consolida- 
tion school became firmly established. Mr. Webster, the 
mouth-piece of the manufacturing interest in the North, at- 
tempted by expositions of the Constitution to represent the 
government as a central organization of numbers, Avithout any 
feature of originality to distinguish it from other rude democ- 
racies of the world. In his attempt to simplify it, he degraded 
it to the common-place of simple democracy, and insulted the 
wisdom of those who had made it. The political opinions of 
Mr. Webster were summed up in what he arrogantly called 
" Four Exhaustive Propositions." These propositions were fa- 
mous in the newspapers of his day, and may be reproduced 
here as a very just summary of the political ideas of the North. 

» MR. Webster's four exhaustive propositions. 

1. "That the Constitution of the United States is not a 
league, confederacy,- or compact between the people of the 
several States in their sovereign' capacity ; but a government 
founded on the adoption of the people, and creating direct re- 
lations between itself and individuals." 

2. "That no State authority has power to dissolve these re- 
lations ; that nothing can dissolve them but revolution ; and 
that, consequently, there can be no such thing as secession 
without revolution." 

3. " That there is a supreme law, consisting of the Consti- 
tution of the United States, acts of Congress passed in pur- 
suance of it, and treaties ; and that in cases not capable of as- 
suming the character of a suit in law or equity, Congress must 



300 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

judge of, and finally interpret this supreme law, as often as it 
has occasion to pass acts of legislation ; and in cases capable 
of assuming the character of a suit, the Supreme Court of the 
United States is the first interpreter." 

4. " That the attempt bj a State to abrogate, annul, or nul- 
lify an act of Congress, or to arrest its operation within her 
limits, on the ground that, in her opinion, such law is uncon- 
stitutional, is a direct usurpation on the just powers of the 
general government, and on the equal rights of other States ; 
a plain violation of the Constitution ; and a proceeding essen- 
tially revolutionary in its character and tendency." 

It is in the light of these propositions that the present as- 
sertion of the independence of the South is denounced by the 
North as rebellion. And it is with reference to them and 
their savage doctrine of the power of numbers in a union of 
sovereign States, that we may in turn challenge the world to 
declare if the South in this struggle is not enlisted in the cause 
of free government, which is more important to the world than 
" the Union," which has disappeared beneath the wave of 
history. 

In the present war the North has given faithful and constant 
indications of its dominant idea of the political sovereignty, as 
well as the military omnipotence of numbers. It is absui'd to 
refer to the person of Abraham Lincoln as the political master 
of the North ; he is the puppet of the vile despotism that rules 
by brute numbers. "We have already referred to some of the 
characteristics of such despotism. We shall see others in this 
war, in the timidity and subservient hesitation to which such a 
government reduces party minorities, and in that destitution of 
honor which invariably characterizes the many-headed despot- 
ism of the people. 

Mr. Lincoln was elected on a principle of deadly antagonism 
to the social order. His party found him subservient to their 
passions, and with the President in the hollow of their hand, 
for two years they have reigned triumphantly in the Congress 
at Washington. Such has been the stupendous lunacy and 
knavery of this body, that it will be regarded in all coming 
time as a blotch on civilization and a disgrace to the common 
humanity of the age. 

There are some minds in the South which are prejudiced by 



THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAR. 301 

the impression that the power of the Lincoln party was broken 
bj the fall elections of 1862 ; that it has lost the majority of 
numbers in the North ; and that thereby the despotism which 
we have desc^-ibed as characteristic of the North is rapidly 
approaching the period of its dissolution or an era of reaction. 
But this reply to our theory does not take into account all the 
facts. The Republican party in the North still has the 
majority of force — a majority more dangerous and appalling 
than that of numbers, as it finds more numerous objects of 
revenge among its own people. 

The Yankee Congress rejected at the polls has taken fearful 
revenge on the people who ventured an opinion hostile to the 
ruling dynasty. They have passed the bank, conscription, 
and habeas corpus suspension bills, thus placing every life and 
every dollar, and, indeed, every right of twenty millions of 
freeborn people at the absolute mercy of Abraham Lincoln. 
They have abated none of their legislation against the interests 
of humanity and the written and unwritten law of civilization 
in this war. They have added to it. They are organizing 
insurrections in South Carolina ; they have sent a negro army 
into Florida; they are organizing black regiments in Tennessee. 
But a few months ago the infamous law was passed at Wash- 
ington known as " the Plunder Act," in which the Secretary 
of the Treasury was authorized to appoint agents to go South, 
collect all property, send it North, and have it sold. In 
difierent parts of the Confederacy the Yankee troops are now 
destroying all farming implements, seizing all provisions, and 
preventing the planting of crops, with the avowed determina- 
tion of starving the Southern people into submission. Such a 
warfare contemplates the extermination of women and children 
as well as men, and proposes to inflict a revenge more terrible 
than the tortures of savages and the modern atrocities of the 
Sepoys. 

It is, perhaps, not greatly to be wondered at that a people 
like the Yankees should show a brutal rage in warfare upon 
*an enemy who has chastised their insolence and exasperated 
their pride, and that they should therefore be generally ready 
to give their adhesion to any train of measures calculated for 
revenge upon the South. But it is a matter of grave and 
solicitous inquiry that this people should so easily tolerate 



302 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

measures in the government which have been plainly directed 
against their own liberties, and which, while thej have been 
applauding a " vigorous prosecution of the war," have estab- 
lished a savage despotism at home. It is yet miore remarkable 
that the erection of this despotism should be hailed with a cer- 
tain applause by its own victims. History has some instances 
of the servile and unnatural joys of a people in the surrender 
of their liberties; but none grosser than that in which has 
been inaugurated the throne of Abraham Lincoln at Wash- 
ington. 

There are numerous examples in history where great abilities * 
or some scattered virtues in the character of a despot have won 
the flattery of minds not ignoble and unconscious of their 
humiliation. Milton in his Latin superlatives spoke of Crom- 
well very much after the same manner in which Mr. Lincoln 
is spoken of in Yankee vernacular. Earn te agnoscunt otnnes, 
Cromuelle, ea tu civis maximus et gloriosissimus, dux puhlici 
consilii, exercitum., fortissimorum imperator, pater patrice 
gessisti. But the Western lawyer and tavern -jester is not a 
Cromwell, l^o attractions of genius are to be found in the 
personal composition of Abraham Lincoln. His person in fact 
is utterly unimportant. He holds the reins for a higher power ; 
and that power is the many-headed monster of Fanaticism, 
which by numbers or by force constrains the popular will and 
rules with the rod of iron. 

The disposition generally of the Northern people to submit 
to or tolerate the assaults of the Washington government on 
their own liberties and tlie destruction of their civil rights, 
must proceed from permanent and well-defined causes. We 
have already hinted in these pages an explanation of this ser- 
vile acquiescence in the acts of the government. It is doubt- 
less the fruit of the false political education in the North, that 
gives none other but materialistic ideas, of government, and 
inculcates the virtue of time-serving with all political majori- 
ties. It is to be attributed to the demoralization of the Yan- 
kee ; to the servile habit of his mind ; to his long practice of 
submission to the wild democracy of numbers, — all proceeding 
from that false idea of government which recognizes it only as 
the organ of an accidental party, and not as a self-existent 
principle of right and virtue. It is a melancholy fact that the 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 303 

people of the North have long ceased to love or to value lib- 
erty. They have ceased to esteem the political virtues ; to 
take any account of the moral elements of government ; or to 
look upon it else than as a physical power, to be exercised at 
the pleasure of a party, and to be endured until reversed by 
the accident of numbers. 

Tlie superficial political education of the people of the !N"orth 
explains much that is curious in their society. Time-serving 
of powev gave them wealth, while it degraded their national 
character. In the old government they easily surrendered their 
political virtue for tariffs, bounties, &c. ; and the little left of 
it is readily sacrificed on the devilish altars of this war. Their 
habit of material computation made them boastful of a " civili- 
zation" untouched by the spirits of virtue and humanity, con- 
sisting only of the rotten, material things which make up the 
externals and conveniences of life, and the outer garments of so- 
ciety. Their wealth was blazed out in arts and railroads ; com- 
mon schools, the nurseries of an insolent ignorance ; and gilded 
chm-ches, the temples of an impure religion. No people has 
ever established more decisively the fact of the worthlessness 
of what remains of " civilization," when the principle of liberty 
is subtracted, or more forcibly illustrated how much of phos- 
phorescent rottenness there is in such a condition. 

" Tlieir much-loved wealth imparts 
Convenience, plenty, elegance, and arts ; 
But view them closer, craft and fraud appear, 
Even liberty itself is bartered here ; 
At gold's superior charms all freedom flies, 
The needy sell it and the rich man buys ; 
A land of tyrants and a den of slaves." 

The present war has sufficiently demonstrated the mistake of 
the North in the measure of its civilization, and convinced the 
world that much of what it esteemed its former strength was 
" but plethoric ill." It has done more than this, for it has un- 
masked the moral nature of the Yankee. It has exposed to 
the detestation of the world a character which is the product 
of materialism in politics and materialism in religion — the 
spawn of the worship of power and the lust of gain. The 
Yankee — who has followed up an extravagance of bluster by 
the vilest exhibitions of cowardice— who has falsified his prate 



304 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of humanity by tlie deeds of a savage — who, in the South, has 
been in this war a robber, an assassin, a thief in the night, and 
at home a slave fawning on the hand that manacles him — has 
secured for himself the everlasting contempt of the world. The 
characteristics of a people who boasted themselves the most 
enlightened of Christian nations, are seen in a castrated civili- 
zation ; while the most remarkable qualities they have dis- 
played in the war are illustrated by the coarse swagger and 
drunken fumes of such men as Butler, and the rouged lies of 
such'" military authorities" as Halleck and Hooker. 

All vestiges of constitutional liberty have long ago been 
lost in the North. The very term of " State rights" is men- 
tioned with derision, and the States of the North have ceased 
to be more than geographical designations. No trace is left of 
the old political system but in the outward routine of the gov- 
ernment. The Constitution of the United States is but " the 
skin of the immolated victim," and the forms and ceremonies 
of a republic are the disguises of a cruel and reckless des- 
potism. 

During the two miserable and disastrous years that Mr. Lin- 
coln has held the presidency of the United States, he has made 
the institutions of his country but a name. The office of presi- 
dent is no longer recognized in its republican simplicity ; it is 
overlaid with despotic powers, and exceeds in reality the most 
famous imperial titles. Not a right secured by the Constitution 
but has been invaded ; not a principle of freedom but has been 
overthrown ; not a franchise but has been trampled under foot. 
The infamous " death order" published by Burnside, more 
bloody than the Draconian penalty and more cruel than the 
rude decrees of the savage, is without a parallel in the domes- 
tic rule, or in the warfare of any people making the feeblest 
pretence to civilization. It assigns the penalty of death to 
" writers of letters sent by secret mails," and to all persons 
who " feed, clothe, or in any manner aid" the soldiers of the 
Confederacy. This infamous decree will live in history ; it is 
already associated with a memorable martyrdom — that of 
Clement Yallandigham. • 

It is remarkable that the North finds great difficulty in as- 
signing to the world the objects of the present mad and inhu- 
man war. The old pretences made by the Yankees of fighting 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 305 

for a constitutional Union, and contesting the cause of free 
government for the world, are too absurd and disgusting to be 
repeated. They are unwilling to admit that they are fighting 
for revenge, and prosecuting a war, otherwise hopeless, for the 
gratification of a blind and fanatical hate. They have re- 
cently changed the political phrases of the war, and the latest 
exposition of its object is, that the North contends for " the life 
of the nation." If this means that a parasite is struggling for 
existence, and that the North desires the selfish aggrandize- 
ments of the Union, and its former tributes to its wealth, we 
shall not dispute the theory. But the plain question occurs, 
what right has the North to constrain the association of a 
people who have no benefit to derive from the partnership, and 
who, by the laws of nature and society, are free to consult their 
own happiness ? The North has territory and numbers and 
physical resources enough for a separate existence, and if she 
has not virtue enough to sustain a national organization, she 
has no right to seek it in a compulsory union with a people 
who, sensible of their superior endowments, have resolved to 
take their destinies in their own hands. 

There is one sense, indeed, in which association with, the 
South does imply the national welfare of the North. The 
South gave to the old government all its ideas of statesman- 
ship ; it leavened the political mass with its characteristic con- 
servatism ; and it combated, and, to some extent, controlled 
the brutal theory that represented numbers as the element of 
free government. The revolutionary and infidel society of the 
North was moderated by the piety and virtues of the South, 
and the old national life was in some degree purified by the 
political ideas and romantic character of that portion of the 
country now known as the Confederacy. It is in this sense 
that the Southern element is desirable to the North, and that 
the Union involves " the life of the nation ;" and it is precisely 
in the same sense that an eternal dissociation and an independ- 
ent national existence are objects to the South not only of de- 
sire, but of "vital necessity. 

We can never go back to the embraces of the North. There 
is blood and leprosy in the touch of our former associate. We 
can never again live with a people who have made of this war 
a huge assassination ; who have persecuted us with savage and 

20 



306 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

cowardly hate ; who gloat over the fancies of starving women 
and children ; who have appealed to the worst passions of the 
black heart of the negro to take revenge upon us ; and who, 
not satisfied with the emancipation proclamation and its scheme 
of servile insurrection, have actually debated in their State 
Legislatures the policy of paying negroes premiums for the 
murder of white families in the South.* 

While we congratulate ourselves on the superiority of our 
political ideas over those of the North, and the purer life of 
our society, we do not forget that, although we have carried 
awaj' much less of the territory and numbers of the old Union 
than have been left to our enemy, we still have a sufficiency of 
the material elements of a national existence. 

The South has attempted to lay the foundations of national 
independence, with a territory as great as the whole of Europe, 
with the exception of Russia and Turkey ; with a population 
four times that of the continental colonies ;• and with a capacity 
for commerce equivalent to nearly four-hfths of the exj)orts of 
the old Union, 

It is only necessary to glance at the contemporary aspects of 
the war to reassure our confidence in its destiny, and to renew 
our vows upon its altars. The hope of reconstruction is a van- 
ity of the enemy. To mobocratic Yankees ; to New England 

* The following is taken from an Abolition pamphlet (1863), entitled " In- 
teresting Debate," etc., in the Senate of Pennsylvania. It is characteristic of 
the blasphemous fanaticism of the Yankee and his hideous lust for blood : 

" Mr. LowKY — I believed then and now that He who watches over the spar- 
row will chastise us until we will be just towards ourselves and towards four 
millions of God's poor, down-cast prisoners of war. I said that I would arm 
the negro — that I would place him in the front of battle — and that I would 
invite his rebel master with his stolen arms to shoot his stolen ammunition 
into his stolen property at the rate of a thousand dollars a shot. I said further, 
that were I commander-in-chief, by virtue of the war power and in obedience 
to the customs of civilized nations, and in accordance with the laws of civilized 
nations, I would confiscate every rebel's property, whether upon two legs or 
four, and that I would give to the slave who would bring me his master's dis- 
loyal scalp one hundred and sixty acres of his master's plantation ; nor would 
I be at all exacting as to where the scalp was taken off, so that "it was at some 
point between the bottom of the ears and the top of the loins. This, sir, was 
my language long before Fremont had issued his immortal proclamation. The 
logic of events is sanctifying daily these anointed truths. Father, forgive thou 
those who deride and viliiy me, because I enunciated them : they know not 
what they do," 



THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 307 

" majorities ;" to the base crews of Infidelity and Abolitionism: 
to the savages who have taken upon their souls the curse of 
fratricidal blood and darkened an age of civilization with unut- 
terable crime and outrage, the South can never surrender, giv- 
ing up to such a people their name, their lands, their wealth, 
their traditions, their glories, their heroes newlj dead, their 
victories, their hopes of the future. Such a fate is morally im- 
possible. We have not paid a great price of life for nothing. 
We have not forgotten our dead. The flower of our youth and 
the strength of our manhood have not gone down to the grave 
in vain. We are not willing for the poor boon of a life dishon- 
ored and joyless to barter our liberties, surrender our homes to 
the spoiler, exist as the vassals of Massachusetts, or become 
exiles, whose title to pity will not exceed the penalty of con- 
tempt. Any contact, friendly or indifferent, with the Yankee, 
since the display of his vices, would be painful to a free and 
enlightened jDcople. It would be vile and unnatural to the 
people of the South if extended across the bloody gulf of a 
cruel war, and unspeakably infamous if made in the attitude of 
submission. 



APPENDIX. 



THE SEVEN DAYS' CONTESTS. 

June 25 — July 1, 1862. 

{By a Prvssiati Officer in the Confederate Army.) 

Upon the approach of the terrible Union armada we were 
forced to abandon our position on the peninsula at Yorktown, 
and after we had partially spiked our guns we drew back to 
our defensive fastness at Williamsburg, so as at that point to 
cover our capital, Richmond, by throwing up strong fortified 
works, and perfecting a compact military 'formation. McClel- 
lan, the commanding general of the Union troops, did not al- 
low himself to be so far deceived by our voluntary withdrawal 
from our position at Yorktown as to regard us a beaten army, 
but with great celerity and skill continued the disembarkation 
of his troops, and began to fortify his position. It was not 
until he had completed his preliminary measures that he ad- 
vanced with hostile demonstrations against our line. The lines 
at Williamsburg were also given up by us without any great 
resistance, although it was very difficult to persuade the old 
fighting Gen. Magruder of the propriety of the step, for he 
loved the position as a father loves his child ; and, to tell the 
truth, all the fortifications had been constructed with much 
talent under his personal directions. The hard-headed old 
soldier was won over only after renewed debate and expostula- 
tion. At length, however, after a few cavalry afi'airs, the place 
was evacuated by our troops, and we took up our march, in 
two columns, for Richmond. In the mean while the most fear- 
ful panic fell upon Richmond, and all ^\\o could possibly get 
away packed up every thing they had and fled southward. 



310 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

The nearer the hostile army approached the city the fiercer the 
tumult and uproar became. The burning waves of popular 
alarm could not be stayed. The government itself furtliered 
*the confusion. Instead of resolving to triumph or to fall with 
•the army in front of Richmond, it at once ordered all the 
different bureaux to pack up, and caused the officers of ord- 
nance to empty their magazines, and convey their stores further 
south. Even President Davis took to the road and hastened, 
with his wife and children, to North Carolina. As may be 
readily divined, this loss of presence of mind threw the people 
at large into the most frantic excess of terror. There was noth- 
ing on all sides but shouting and uproar, and confusion reached 
its utmost height. The secret police of Gen. Winder had lost 
all control. The civil authorities of Richmond were anxious 
to do something, but knew not what, and also lost their senses. 
A small number of the Baltimore rabble took advantage of the 
hubbub, and, in public meeting, passed resolutions condemning 
Richmond to conflagration as soon as the Union troops should 
enter it. Yet all who could escape did so. The sick and 
the wounded were carried further into the interior; many 
public and private buildings were marked out for destruction ; 
and, in ' short, a frightful catastrophe seemed to be impending 
over the Southern capital. 

At this most critical moment the General -in-chief command- 
ing our forces (Johnston) was wounded at the battle of Seven 
Pines, and the command fell into the able hands of Gen. Lee, 
who was exactly the man to bring quiet and order again out 
of this unreasonable chaos. He went to work with great zeal 
and energy to discharge his onerous task. All disposable 
troops were hastily summoned from the interior ; Gen. Stone- 
wall Jackson's army corps was ordered to Richmond ; all the 
hospitals were cleared of their occupants, and preparations 
made for ten thousand wounded men ; artillery and ammuni- 
tion wagons rattled by day and night through the streets, 
while aids and orderlies galloped to and fro in wild hurry- 
skurry with their dispatches. 

Masses of troops came pouring in daily, yes, hourly, but 
without music or any other military pomp. Sternly and 
silently these ragged, half-starved swarms of men moved on- 
ward through the thoroughfares, but the fire in their eyes 



APPENDIX. 311 

showed that they were determined to defend their freedom or 
to perish. 

On the 25th of June another great conncil of war was held. 
In it were assembled nearly all that was eminent in the Con- 
federate army. There stood like a rock Gen. Lee, gazing cheer- 
fully over the countenances of his comrades, for each of whom 
he had a part already assigned. Thoughtfully his eyes wander- 
ed from one to the other, as though he wished to stamp the 
features of each upon his memory, with the feeling that he, 
perhaps, should never behold many of them again. Close be- 
side him towered the knightly form of Gen. Baldwin ; at his 
left leaned pensively Stonewall Jackson, the idol of his troops, 
impatiently swinging his sabre to and fro, as though the quiet 
room were too narrow for him, and he were longing to be once 
more at the head of his columns. A little aside quietly stood the 
two Hills, arm in arm, while in front of them old Gen. "Wise was 
energetically speaking. Further to the right stood Generals 
Huger, Longstreet, Branch, Anderson, Whiting, Ripley, and 
Magruder in a group. When all these generals had assembled. 
Gen. Lee laid his plans before them, and in a few stirring 
words pointed out to each his allotted task. The scheme had 
already been elaborated. It was compact, concentrated action, 
and the result could not fail to be brilliant. 

When the conference terminated, all shook hands and 
hastened away to their respective army corps, to enter upon 
immediate activity. 

Now, in looking at the positions of the two armies, it will 
be seen that unquestionably the advantage was with the South- 
ern host; for Gen. McClellan had his forces necessarily on 
both sides of the Chickahominy, and, owing to the many ra- 
vines in his neighborhood, could not, without great difficulty 
and much loss of time, execute his military movements. His 
front line reached over a distance of more than twenty miles, 
in the form of a semicircle, extending from the James river 
towards Richmond and Ashland. While one part of his army 
crossed the Chickahominy, he took position with the main 
body on the north side of the river, from Meadow bridge to 
Bottom bridge. The heights on the banks of the stream were 
fortified, so that his army, notwithstanding the great length of 
its lines, had excellent defensive cover. 



312 THE SKCOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

On the 26tli of June, in the morning, our troops took up 
their positions. Jackson hastened by forced marches to Ash- 
land, there to commence his out-flanking operations against 
the enemy. Having arrived there, his advanced guard drove 
in the weakly posted foe, and pushed on without loss of time 
to Hanover Court-house, where he threw forward Gen. Branch's 
brigade, between the Chickahominy and' Pamunkey rivers, to 
establish a junction with Gen. Hill (first), who had to cross the 
stream at Meadow bridge. Gen. Hill very gallantly opened 
the offensive, and began his operations against the little toVn 
of Mechanicsville. The enemy who were stationed here made 
a brave resistance. Storming attacks were made again and 
again, with a fury, and as often repelled with a cool determi- 
nation that awakened admiration. In vain did Gen. Hill send 
his aids in quest of Gen. Branch. The latter had encountered 
so many topographical difficulties that he reached his position 
in front of Mechanicsville only late at night, when the conflict 
was at an end. The morning of the 27th had scarcely begun 
to dawn ere our artillery opened a tremendous fire upOn the 
enemy's front, so that the latter, when they also saw Branch's 
brigade advancing to the attack on their right, abandoned their 
position at Mechanicsville, and fell back, fighting upon their 
second defensive line, further down the stream. Just at the 
moment when we had established the crossing of the Chick- 
ahominy, arrived Gen. Longstreet's magnificent army corps — 
old, experienced veterans of the Army of the Potomac — and 
the division of Gen. Hill (second). At once the order to ad- 
vance was given all along the line. The divisions of Gens. Hill 
(second), Anderson, and Whiting formed the centre, and moved 
towards Coal Harbor, while Jackson, Hill (first), and Long- 
street formed the left, and marched down along the bank of 
the river. Magruder, commanding the right wing, was, on ac- 
count of the swampy nature of the ground he occupied, ordered 
to hold himself merely on the defensive. Gen. Wise took com- 
mand of Fort Darling, on the James river. All these military 
ofi'ensive operations, and the two preceding fights, must have 
given Gen. McClellan knowledge of our intention to change 
•our inconvenient position at Richmond, and to procure for our- 
selves more space and freedom of motion. He should, then, 
have instantly ordered the army corps of McDowell, which for 



APPENDIX. 313 

four months had lain inactive at Fredericksburg, to make a 
demonstration along the Richmond road. By such a move- 
ment even the flank march of Gen. Jackson would have been 
rendered impracticable. But Gen. McClellan must have been 
deceived in the character of Gen. McDowell ; for, notwith- 
standing all the communications in reference to our combined 
manoeuvres, the latter remained with imperturbable indif- 
ference in his secure position, and left Gen. McClellan's army, 
which had suffered greatly by sickness and desertion, a prey 
to the heavy concussions of our attack. Scarcely, therefore, 
had Gen. Lee received reliable intelligence of McDowell's 
inactivity, than a general and simultaneous attack on McCel- 
lan's whole line was resolved upon. So soon, then, as the ar- 
rival of Gen. Jackson at Coal Harbor was reported, the Com- 
mander-in-chief, with his staff, repaired to Gaines's Mill, and 
ordered the divisions of Anderson, Hill (first), Longstreet, and 
Picket to attack. Before these columns got into motion, the 
thunder of artillery at pur left announced that Gen. Jackson 
was already at work. This called forth in our troops the ut- 
most enthusiasm. 

Gen. McClellan's position on that day was remarkable in the 
highest degree. With one portion of his troops he had crossed 
to the south side of the Chickahominy, and there confronted 
Magruder, while, with the larger portion of his force, he had 
taken up a position more to the rear and nearer to the railroad, 
where he was resolved to accept battle. His dispositions re- 
vealed comprehensive forethought, talent, and coolness. The 
different divisions of his army took their positions with admi- 
rable precision and awaited our onset with firmness. It was 
the first time that the two hostile armies had, in relation to 
numbers, confronted one another with force so nearly equal ; 
but the Unionists had the advantage of a better protected po- 
sition, while our troops had to expose themselves to the hostile 
fire. The attack was opened by the columns of Hill (first), 
Anderson, and Pickett. These gallant masses rushed forward 
with thundering hurras upon the musketry of the foe, as though 
it were a joy to them. Whole ranks went down under that 
terrible hail, but nothing could restrain their courage. The 
billows of battle raged fiercely onward ; the struggle was man 
to man, eye to eye, bayonet to bayonet. The hostile Meagher's 



314 THK SECOND TKAR OF THE WAR. 

brigade, composed cliiefly of Irishmen, offered heroic resistance. 
After a fierce struggle our people began to give way, and at 
length all orders and encouragements were vain — they were 
falling back in the greatest disorder. Infuriate, foaming at the 
month, bare headed, sabre in hand, at this critical moment Gen. 
Cobb appeared upon the field, at the head of his legion, and 
with him the Nineteenth North Carolina and Fourteenth Vir- 
ginia regiments. At once these troops renewed the attack, but 
all their devotion and self-sacrifice were in vain. The Irish 
held their position with a determination and ferocity that called 
forth the admiration of our own officers. Broken to pieces and 
disorganized, the fragments of that fine legion came rolling 
back from the charge. Tlie Nineteenth North Carolina lost 
eiffht standard-bearers, and the most of their staff-oflicers were 
either killed or wounded. Again, Generals Hill (first) and 
Anderson led their troops to the attack, and some regiments 
covered themselves with immortal glory. Onr troops exhib- 
ited a contempt of death that made them the equals of old, 
experienced veterans ; for, notwithstanding the bloody harvest 
the destroyer reaped in our ranks that day, no disorder, no 
timid bearing revealed that many of the regiments were under 
fire and smelt gunpowder then for the first time. But -the en- 
emy, nevertheless, quietly and coolly held out against every 
attack we made, one after the other. Notwithstanding the fact 
that solitary brigades had to stand their ground from four until 
eight o'clock p. m., they performed feats of incredible valor; 
and it was onl}'" when the news came that Jackson was upon 
them in the rear, that about eight they retired before our ad- 
vance. Despite the dreadful carnage in their ranks, they 
marched on with streaming banners and rolling drums, and 
carried with them all their slightly wounded and all their- bag- 
gage ; and, when the cavalry regiments of Davies and "Wick- 
ham went in pursuit, repelled this assault also with perfect 
coolness. 

By this time night had come on, and overspread the field of 
death with darkness, compassionately shutting out from the 
eyes of the living the horrid spectacle of slaughter. Quiet 
gradually returned. Only a feeble cannonade could be heard 
upon our farthest left, and that too, little by little, died away. 
The soldiers were so fearfully exhausted by the day's struggle 



APPENDIX. 315 

that many of them sank down from their places in the ranks 
npon the ground. Although I, too, could scarcely keep in the 
saddle, so great was ray fatigue, I hastened with one of my 
aids to that quarter of the field where the struggle had raged 
the most fiercely. The scene of ruin was horrible. Whole ranks 
of the enemy lay prone where they had stood at the beginning 
of the battle. The number of wounded was fearful, too, and 
the groans and imploring cries for help that rose on all sides 
had, in the obscurity of the night, a ghastly effect that froze 
the blood in one's veins. Although I had been upon so many 
battle-fields in Italy and Hungary, never had my vision beheld 
such a spectacle of human destruction. The preparations for 
the transportation of the wounded were too trifling, and the 
force detailed for that purpose was either too feeble in numbers 
or had no proper knowledge of its duties. Even the medical 
corps had, by the terrors of the situation, been rendered in- 
capable of attending to the wounded with zeal and efficiency. 
With inconceivable exertion I at length succeeded, Mnth the 
assistance of some humane officers, in bringing about some 
kind of order amid this frightful confusion. By the happiest 
chance, I found some Union ambulances, had all our men who 
could drive and knew the way pressed into service, and set to 
work to get the wounded into Richmond. A most heart-rend- 
ing task it was ; for often the poor sufferer would expire just 
as we were about to extend him succor. By midnight we had 
got the first train ready. It consisted of sixty wagons, with 
two hundred seriously wounded. I. cautiously and slowly con- 
ducted this train with success to the city. The first hospital 
reached I was met with refusal. "All full," was the reply to 
my inquiry. " Forward to the next hospital," was my word 
of command. "All full," was again the answer. Just then a 
friend said to me that if I would wait he might be able to help 
me, as he would have a neighboring tenement, used as a to- 
bacco warehouse, prepared for a hospital. So I had to make 
up my mind to wait there an hour and a half in the street 
with my dying charge. I did my best to supply the poor fel- 
lows with water, tea, and other refreshments, so as to alleviate 
their sufferings in some degree ; but the late hour of the night 
and the agitation of the city prevented me from putting my 
design into more than half execution. 



316 THK SECOND YKAR OF THE WAR. 

At length the so-called hospital was ready; but I could 
scarcely believe my eyes when I saw the dismal hole offered 
me by that name. Tliere, in open lofts, without windows or 
doors, a few planks nailed together were to be the beds of the 
unfortunate defenders of our country. During those days of| 
fate the soldier had endured all things— hunger, thirst, heat. 
Nothing could rob him of his courage, his indifference to death, 
and now he lay there wounded to the death at the door of his 
friends, whose property he had defended, for whose welfare he 
had exposed his life ; and these friends turn him away to an 
open barn, where, without dressing for his wounds or any care, 
he is left to perish. 

And yet this city had a population of forty thousand souls, 
had churches admirably adapted to conversion into hospitals, 
had clergymen in numbers ; but neither the doors of the 
churches opened, nor were the ministers of the gospel there to 
sweeten the last moments of the dying soldier. Sad and dis- 
pirited, I gave the order to carry in the wounded, cast one 
more glance at that house of death and horror, and then 
swung myself into my saddle and fled, with a quiet oath on 
my lips, back to my regiment. 

Gen. Jackson had accomplished his flanking march without 
meeting with important resistance from the enemy. Hardly 
had he arrived at the positions marked out for him, ere he sent 
his columns to the charge. Notwithstanding the dilBculties 
and exertions of the march, which they had executed on short 
allowance, he hurled his troops — those desperate sans culottes 
of his — upon the Federals. In vain was all the courage, all 
the bold manoeuvring of the enemy. Like a tempest. Gen. 
Stuart and his cavalry swept down upon them and hurled 
every thing to the earth that stood in his way. A genuine 
fury took possession of Jackson's men, who, throwing aside 
their muskets, and drawing their terrible bowie-knives, fell 
with these alone upon the victims offered up to them. Hor- 
rible was the carnage that then ensued, and although the Feder- 
als had at first made obstinate resistance, they now lost ground 
and fell back, throwing away arms, knapsacks, blankets — in 
tine, every thing that could impede their flight. Subordina- 
tion and discipline were at an end. The soldier no longer 



APPENDIX. 317 

heard the command of his officer, and deserted the post in- 
trusted to his keeping. Already had two generals of the four 
hostile brigades been left by their men, and it was believed 
that all was over with McClellan's entire army, when at this 
perilous crisis, Gen. Heintzelman appeared with his division, 
and again brought the battle to a stand. With great ability 
and gallantry he repulsed the onset of our troops, and at once 
ordered the organization of the beaten and fugitive brigades ; 
but it was found impossible to restore order to these confused 
and intimidated masses. They bore their officers along with 
them, and rushed away in wild disordered flight. 

Gen. Heintzelman saw himself compelled to abandon his 
position, and, like an ox, with head down and ready to receive 
attack at any moment, he drew slowly back to the Chicka- 
hominy. All the wounded and all the accumulated stores of 
the enemy fell into our hands, and Jackson could, with a clear 
conscience, issue the oi*der : " Enough for to-day." None of 
the other generals had performed their task with such rapidity 
and success as he, and therefore the fruits of his victory were 
unusually large. The Unionists had lost during the day two bri- 
gadier-generals, one hundred and fifteen staff and subaltern offi- 
cers, three thousand privates, and twenty-one cannon, and hun- 
dreds of ambulances and baggage-wagons with all their lading. 
The booty was immense ; but, in a strategic point of view, 
Jackson's success was of far greater importance, since it cut 
Gen. McClellan off completely from his base of retreat. When, 
therefore, the triumph of Jackson's arms became known at 
head-quarters, all counted with perfect certainty upon the de- 
struction or capture of McClellan's entire force. The rejoicing 
bordered on frenzy, and when, early next morning, I rejoined 
my regiment, I found my poor fellows in a state of feverish ex- 
citement, for every man of them wanted to have a han-d in the 
approaching capture or annihilation of the great Federal army. 
I alone shrugged my shoulders as my officers communicated 
their anticipations on the subject. We had gone through a 
similar experience in 1848, under Radetzky, in Italy. There, 
too, the Italians had already prepared quarters for the old man 
and his troops, and the mayor of Milan was so firmly confident 
of victory and its consequences that he hurried out to meet the 



318 THE SKCOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

gray old hero a prisoner, at the very moment when tlie latter, 
overcoming all difficulties, was quietly withdrawing into his 
fortresses at Mantua and Verona. 

I had but just reached my regiment when we received the 
order to advance along the whole line. I looked with sadness 
upon our once fine division. How fearfully some regiments 
had been decimated ! Many which, like my own, had marched 
out with eleven hundred men, had now but three or four hun- 
dred effective soldiers left. Yes, some — for instance, the Seventh 
Georgia and Twenty-first North Carolina — had only something 
over one hundred and eighty men. A vast number of ofticers 
were disabled, and many a fine fellow who, a few days before, 
full of confidence and 'jollity, had prophesied a golden future, 
was no more. I no longer had the courage to ask for this one 
or that one whom I did not see, but took it for granted that he 
had fallen on the field of honor — it was too sad to always hear 
the same response, " He is dead," " he fell here," or "• there," 
in such and such a way. 

As our divisions were getting into motion, suddenly ap- 
peared the President, Jefferson Davis, surrounded by the General 
of Cavalry, Joseph Davis, and Messrs. Johnston and Smith, 
followed by Secretary of War Randolph, and his military 
Cabinet. Now when the danger was over, when* Richmond 
had been free from the iron yoke placed upon her neck by the 
encircling army of the foe, and when they began again to 
breathe freely within their walls, these parlor heroes could, at 
last, at the close of the bloody struggle, assume a theatrical 
attitude. Yet, with no hurrah, as of yore, did the soldiers re- 
ceive the conqueror of Buena Yista. With a cold eye and as 
stiff as his horse he rode along the front of the regiments, only 
once in a while addressing a word to some friend. 

When" our division had successfully worked its way out from 
among the labyrinths of dismounted artillery, shattered wagons, 
and dead and wounded soldiers, and got room for freer movement, 
we opened our eyes wide with astonishment, when, on reach- 
ing the positions evacuated by the enemy, we found nothing 
but a few stands of arms and some baggage. All their material 
had been carried off by them in this part of the field, and only 
a huge number of dead told how fearfully the battle had raged 
at this point. The fortifications were of colossal dimensions, 



APPENDIX. 319 

and had far greater solidity than we had supposed. We at 
once received orders to pursue the foe immediately, or at least 
so soon as we could ascertain his exact whereabouts. We had 
hardly got beyond White House when we descried a huge 
cloud of smoke which eddied above the woods about a mile and 
a half to our right. As we carefully advanced in that direction 
we perceived a high heaped-up pyramid briskly burning with 
a red-hot glow, and sending forth volumes of steam. The hos- 
tile genei'al had given orders to commit all the property that 
could not be carried away to the flames, and here the eager 
conquerors were robbed of millions of dollars' worth of booty. 
Like hungry wolves my poor fellows rushed towards the huge 
glowing heap to save whatever could yet be saved. There 
were hundreds of casks of meat, coffee, sugar, molasses, rice, 
wine, even champagne — in fine, all those delicacies with which 
the Northern army was more than abundantly provided, and 
which we poor devils scarcely knew the names of, piled up on 
one another. Yet all our efforts to rescue something useful 
were vain ; the enemy had taken his precautions for the total 
destruction of every thing left behind with such cunning skill, 
that there was nothing remaining but spoiled and useless goods. 
On the other hand, the entire field was covered with the heavy 
cloth cloaks of the fugitives, and these were very welcome to 
our troops. Yet all essential particulars proved to me that 
General McClellan had accomplished his retreat with order 
and sagacity, and that there was nothing further from his 
thoughts than a surrender of the army. Indeed, from some 
stragglers captured by ni}'- men, I learned that he had crossed 
the Chickahominy with his entire force, had given up his 
former base of retreat, and was now approaching the James 
river, probably with a view to form a junction with the fleet. 
I at once sent an officer with the intelligence to Gen, Lee. 
Hereupon I received orders to halt, and presently there rushed 
by the twelve fine brigades of Hill (fii'st) and Longstreet, to 
give the supposed flying enemy his death-blow. About five 
miles from Darleytown, on the Newmarket road, we got sight 
of the foe ; but they had taken up a splendid position. The 
plain, thickly beset with trees at this point, and rough, broken 
ground, was very unfavorable to the operations of our brave 
cavalry, and they were condemned to inaction. 



320 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

General McClellan had taken his position at F'razier's farm, 
which formed his centre. This point he had strengthened with 
nineteen pieces of heavy artillery, had collected his best troops 
there, and firmly and coolly awaited our attack. We had, at 
all hazaids, to drive the enemy from the neighborhood of our 
capital or succumb ourselves. No other choice remained for 
us. But General McClellan only too well understood his criti- 
cal position. By the folly of Gen. McDowell, the pitiful con- 
duct of Secretary Stanton, and the political reasons of Com- 
mander-in-chief Halleck, at Washington, he was offered up, as 
it were to destruction. Many another general would, perhaps, 
under such dreadful circumstances, have sought death amid 
the crash of battle. However, he did not hesitate a moment, 
notwithstanding the frightful losses he had suffered during 
those four days' struggles, to trust his fate, like an old and 
gallant soldier, to the sword. 

During that four days' massacre our troops had been trans- 
formed into wild beasts, and hardly had they caught sight of 
the enemy, drawn up in order, ere they rushed upon them 
with horrible yells. Yet calmly, as on the parade-ground, the 
latter delivered their fire. The batteries in 'the centre dis- 
charged their murderous volleys on our men, and great disor- 
der ensued among the storming masses. General Lee sent all 
his disposable troops to the rescue, but McClellan opened upon 
these newly formed storming columns so hellish a fire that 
even the coldest-blooded veteran lost his self-possession. 
Whole ranks of our men were hurled to the ground. The 
thunder of the cannon, the crackling of the musketry from a 
hundred thousand combatants, mingled with the screams of 
the wounded and the dying, were terrific to the ear and the 
imagination. Thus raged the conflict within a comparatively 
narrow space seven long hours, and yet not a foot of ground 
was won. All our reserves had been led into the fight, and 
the brigade of Wilcox was annihilated. At length the coming 
of night compelled a truce, and utterly overcome by fatigue, 
the soldier sank upon the ground at his post, thoughtless of 
even the friend torn from his side, and engrossed only with the 
instinct of self-preservation. But "Water! water!" was the 
cry from the parched lips on all sides. The empty flasks con- 
tained not a drop, lalas ! and at length sleep overcame each 



• APPENDIX. 321 

worn-out warrior, and even thirst and hunger were forgotten. 
Gloomy and out of humor, Gen. Lee rode through the campino-- 
ground of the decimated regiments attended by his staff, and 
then, with a dry, harsh voice, ordered up the divisions of Wise 
and Magruder to bury the dead. With a brief remark, he next 
indicated to Gen. Longstreet his position for tlie next day, and 
rode off with his aids to visit other portions of the line. 

THE SIXTH DAY AND THE SEVENTH, WITH THE BATTLE OF MAL- 
VERN HILL. 

The gray of morning was just beginning to appear upon the 
horizon when the roar of artillery was once more heard. A 
battery which, during the night, Gen. Anderson had placed 
nearer to the hostile lines was instantly noticed by the enemy 
and vigorously attacked by his field-pieces. Every shot struck, 
and the fragments were hurled in all directions. Of the twelve 
pieces in the battery five were quickly dismounted and the 
teams half destroyed, yet the commanding officer held his post. 
In the mean while our columns had formed without having 
tasted any strengthening or nourishing refreshment. Ex- 
hausted by the fatigues of the preceding days, they fairly 
reeled on their feet, yet not a man shrank back from duty. 
At length, as the sun rose in splendor, and we could better 
distinguish the enemy's positon, an involuntary exclamation 
escaped me, for it was evident to me, from the denser ranks 
he exhibited, that McClellan had been considerably reinforced 
during the night, and could therefore withdraw his worn-out 
troops from the foremost lines, and have an easy struggle with 
fresh men against our famished and exhausted force. 

Gen. Lee, convinced of the perilous position of affairs, at once 
issued orders to Stonewall Jackson to cover the retreat in case 
the army should be compelled to fall back, and directions were 
sent to Richmond to get all the public property ready for im- 
mediate removal. Then the divisions of Hill (second), Long- 
street, Anderson, Cobb, and Whitcomb were ordered to storm 
the enemy's works. 

And now again commenced one of the most desperate com- 
bats that ever took place in any war. The loss on our side was 
absolutely frightful. McClellan, observing the devastation his 

21 



322 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

artillery was making among our troops, called up a division of 
reserves, and overwhelmed us with a terrific rain of musketry. 
His masses pressed forward, step by step, nearer and nearer, 
until at length some companies of ours threw their arms away 
and fled. McClellan availed himself of this panic, and ordered 
a flank movement of his cavalry. Quick as thought Anderson 
placed himself at the head of our horse, and led three regiments 
to the charge. Their onset was magnificent. Our Texans burst 
with ringing huzzas into the ranks of the foe, who, without even 
giving us time to try our sabres, turned to the right-about ; but 
here, too, the hcg(;ile field-pieces prevented further success, and 
we had to draw back from before that crushing fire. 

The enemy, noticing our confusion, now advanced with the 
cry, " Onward to Richmond !" Yes, along the whole hostile 
front rang the shout, " Onward to Richmond !" Many old 
soldiers who had served in distant Missouri and on the plains 
of Arkansas wept in the bitterness of their souls like children. 
Of what avail had it been to us that our best blood had flowed 
for six long days ? — of what avail all our unceasing and ex- 
haustless endurance ? Every thing, every thing seemed lost, 
and a general depression came over all our hearts. Batteries 
dashed past in headlong flight ; ammunition, hospital, and 
supply wagons rushed along, and swept the troops away with 
them from the battle-field. In vain the most frantic exertion, 
entreaty, and self-sacrifice of the staff-officers. The troops had 
lost their foothold, and all was over with the Southern Con- 
federacy. 

In this moment of desperation Gen. Hill came up with a few 
regiments he had managed to rally ; but the enemy was con- 
tinually pressing nearer and nearer, louder and louder their 
shouts, and the watchword, " On to Richmond !" could be 
heard. Cavalry officers sprang from their saddles^ and rushed 
into the ranks of the infantry regiments, now deprived of their 
proper officers. Gen. Hill seized the standard of the 4th North 
Carolina regiment — which he had formerly commanded — and 
shouted to the soldiers : " If you will not follow me, I will 
perish alone !" Upon this a number of officers dashed forward 
to cover their beloved general with their bodies, the soldiers 
hastily rallied, and the cry, " Lead on, Hill, head your old 
North Carolina boys !" rose over the field. And now Hill 



AlPPENDIX. 323 

charged forward with this mass he had thus worked up to the 
wildest enthusiasm. The enemy halted when they saw these 
columns, in flight a moment before, now advancing to the at- 
tack, and Hill burst upon his late pursuers like a famished 
lion. A fearful hand-to-hand conflict now ensued, for there 
was no time to load and fire. The ferocity with which this 
combat was waged was 'incredible. It was useless to beg the 
exasperated men for quarter ; there was no moderation, no 
pity, no compassion in that bloody work of bayonet and knife. 
The son sank dying at his father's feet ; the father forgot that 
he had a child — a dying child ; the brother did not see that a 
brother was expiring a few paces from him ; the friend heard 
not the last groans of a friend ; all natural ties were dissolved ; 
only one feeling, one thirst panted in every bosom — revenge. 
Here it was that the son of Major Peyton, but fifteen years of 
age, called to his father for help. A ball had shattered both 
his legs. " When we have hearten the enemy, then I will help 
you," answered Peyton ; " I have here other sons to lead to 
glory. "Forward !" But the column had advanced only a few 
paces further when the major himself fell to the earth a corpse. 
Prodigies of valor were here performed on both sides. His- 
tory will ask in vain for braver soldiers than those who here 
fought and fell. But of •the demoniac fury of both parties one 
at a distance can form no idea. Even the wounded, despair- 
ing of succor, collecting their last energies of life, plunged their 
knives into the bosoms of foemen who lay near them still 
breathing. 

The success of Gen. Hill enabled other generals to once 
more lead their disorganized troops back to the fight, and the 
contest was renewed along the whole line, and kept up until 
deep into the night ; for every thing depended upon our keep- 
ing the enemy at bay, counting, too, upon their exhaustion at 
last, until fresh troops could arrive to^inforce us. At length, 
about half-past ten in the evening, the divisions of Magruder, 
Wise, and Holmes came up and deployed to the front of our 
army. Had the commanders of these divisions executed their 
orders with promptitude and skill, streams of blood would have 
been spared, and the foe would have been thrown back upon 
his reserves in the course of the forenoon ; but they reached 
us fully seventeen hours behind time. The generals had been 



324 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

uncertain concerning the marcliing orders, their columns crossed 
each other and became entangled, and precious time was 
irremediably lost. Still, as it was, the remainder of our force 
had to thank the final arrival of these divisions for their rescue. 

So soon as these reinforcements could be thrown to the front, 
our regiments were drawn back, and as far as possible reorgan- 
ized during the night, the needful officers appointed, and after 
the distribution of provisions, which had also fortunately arrived, 
measures were adopted for the gathering up of the wounded 
and the burial of the dead. 

On Tuesday, July first, at two o'clock in the morning, while 
the stars were still visible in the sky, Gen. Magruder again 
opened the battle, and very soon began a cannonade so fearful 
that the very earth trembled with the concussion. By twelve 
o'clock meridian McClellan had abandoned all his positions, 
leaving behind his wounded, his baggage, and many pieces of 
cannon. Magruder followed tim, hot foot, but cautiously, as 
he had first to sweep the surrounding woods with artillery and 
sharpshooters. 

About half-past four p. m. our troops reached the vicinity of 
the well-known farm of D. Carter, known as Malvern Hill. 
Here Gen. McClellan had again drawn up his army to re-open 
the fight. Gen. Magruder no sooner«saw the enemy's position 
than he once more led his men to the attack. His columns 
advanced in magnificent order over the space that separated 
them from the foe, and stormed the intrenched position. But 
a murderous hail of grape received the brave fellows and 
mowed them down, until finally the fragments of these splendid 
divisions were compelled to seek the shelter of the woods. 
Again Generals Smith, Anderson, and Holmes led on their 
troops, but suddenly missiles of monstrous dimensions tore 
down whole ranks of our soldiers and caused the ftiost appall- 
ing damage. % 

This was the fire of the fieet, which, although two and a 
half miles distant, now took part in the contest. Our men still 
rushed forward with desperate courage against the hostile po- 
sition, and Malvern. Hill was attacked on all sides. McClellan 
defended himself courageously, and it was twelve o'clock at 
night ere he evacuated this position, which both nature and art 



APPENDIX. 325 

had made a strong one. The heroic daring and energy of our 
troops had overcome all obstacles. 

The battle of the seventh day will live forever in the mem- 
ory of the people as the battle of Malvern Hill. Nowhere, in 
all the actions fought around Richmond, was the contest con- 
fined within so small a space — and there was added to it the 
fire of the monster guns on board the enemy's ships. It was 
terrible to see those two hundred and sixty-eight-pound shell 
crashing through the woods ; and when, one exploded, it was 
as though the globe had burst. Never, in any war since the 
world began, were missiles of such magnitude before used. The 
battle of Malvern Hill will be a monument for that people, 
testifying to the determined will and resolution with which it 
contended for its independence as a nation, and the indomita- 
ble firmness of its vow to conquer or to die. 

I must award to Gen. McClellan my fullest recognition. 
There are few, if any, generals in the Union army who can 
rival hira. Left in the most desperate straits by his com- 
panion in arms, McDowell ; victimized by the Secretarj' of 
War, Stanton, at Washington ; offered up as a sacrifice to des- 
tiny by political jealousy ; cut off from his basis of retreat — he 
selected a new line of safety, of which no one had even 
dreamed. He defended- every foot of ground with courage and 
talent, and his last stand at Malvern Hill, as well as his system 
of defence and his strategic combinations, displayed high mili- 
tary ability. Yet his troops were too greatly demoralized by 
their seven days' fighting, and lost their stamina, while several 
of nis generals could not comprehend the ideas of their com- 
mander, and sustained him but poorly, or not at all. At Har- 
risou's Landing, where the James river forms a curve, he coh 
lected his shattered array under the guns of the Federal fleet. 
But, on our side, we had no longer an army to molest him. 



326 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 



n. 

THE BATTLE OF. GETTYSBURG AND THE CAMPAIGN 
IN PENNSYLVANIA. 

Diwry of an English Officer in the Confederate Army) 

June 20 {Saturday). — Armed with letters of introduction 
from the Secretarj-at-war for Generals Lee and Longstreet, I 
left Richmond at 6 a.m., to join the Virginian army. I was 
accompanied by a sergeant of the Signal Corps, sent by my 
kind friend Major Norris, for the purpose of assisting me in 
getting on. 

We took the train as far as Culpepper, and arrived there at 
5.30 p. M., after having changed cars at Gordonsville, near which 
place I observed an enormous pile of excellent rifles rotting in 
the open air. These had been captured at Chancellorsville ; 
but the Confederates have already such a superabundant stock 
of rifles that apparently they can aff'ord to let them spoil. The 
weather was quite cool after the rain of last night. . The coun- 
try through which we passed had been in the enemy's hands 
last year, and was evacuated by them after the battles before 
Richmond ; but at that time it was not their custom to burn, 
destroy, and devastate — every thing looked green and beauti- 
ful, and did not in the least give one the idea of a hot counn-y. 

In his late daring raid, the Federal General Stoneman crossed 
this railroad, and destroyed a small portion of it, burned a few 
buildings, and penetrated to within three miles of Richmond ; 
but he and his men were in such a hurry that they had not 
time to do much serious harm. 

Culpepper was, until five days ago, the headquarters of Gen- 
erals Lee and Longstreet ; but since Swell's recapture of Win- 
chester, the whole army had advanced with rapidity, and it 
was my object to catch it up as quickly as possible. 

On arriving at Culpepper, my sergeant handed me over to 
another myrmidon of Major Norris, with orders from that offi- 
cer to supply me with a horse, and take me himself to join Mr. 



APPENDIX. 32T 

Lawley, who had passed through for the same purpose as myself 
three days before. 

Sergeant Norris, my new chaperon, is cousin to Major Nor- 
ris, and is a capital fellow. Before the war he was a gentleman 
of good means in Maryland, and was accustomed to a life of 
luxury ; he now lives the life of a private soldier with perfect 
contentment, and is utterly indiiferent to civilization and com- 
fort. Although he was unwell when I arrived, and it was 
pouring with rain, he proposed that we should start at once — 
6 P.M. I agreed, and we did so. Our horses had both sore 
backs, were both unfed, except on grass, and mine was deficient 
of a shoe. They nevertheless travelled well, and we reached a 
hamlet called Woodville, fifteen miles distant, at 9.30. We 
had great difficulty in procuring shelter, but at length we over- 
came the inhospitality of a native, who gave us a feed of corn 
for our horses, and a blanket on the floor for ourselves. 

June 21 {Sunday). — We got the horse shod with some delay, 
and after refreshing the animals with corn and ourselves with 
bacon, we effected a start at 8.15 a.m. We experienced con- 
siderable difficulty in carrying my small saddle-bags and knap- 
sack, on account of the state of our horses' backs. Mine was 
not very bad, but that of Norris was in a horrid state. We 
had not travelled more than a few miles when the latter animal 
cast a shoe, which took us an hour to replace at a village called 
Sperryville. The country is really magnificent, but as it has 
supported two large armies for two years, it is new completely 
cleaned out. It is almost uncultivated, and no animals are 
grazing where there used to be hundreds. All fences have 
been destroyed, and numberless farms burnt, the chimneys alone 
left standing. It is difficult to depict and impossible to exag- 
gerate the sufferings which this part of Yirginia has undergone. 
But the ravages of war have not been able to destroy the beau- 
ties of nature — the verdure is charming, the trees magnificent, 
the country undulating, and the Blue Ridge mountains form 
the background. 

Being Sunday, we met about thirty negroes going to church, 
wonderfully smartly dressed, some (both male and female) rid- 
ing on horseback and others in wagons ; but Mr. Norris informs 
me that two years ago we should have numbered them by 
hundreds. 



328 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

We soon began to catch up the sick and broken down men 
of the army, but not in great numbers ; most of them were 
well shod, though I saw two without shoes. 

After crossing a gap in the Blue Ridge range, we reached 
Front Royal at 5 p. m., and we were now in the well-known 
Shenandoah Yalley — the scene of Jackson's celebrated cam- 
paigns. Front Royal is a pretty little place, and was the 
theatre of one of« the earliest fights in the war, which was com- 
menced by a Maryland regiment of Confederates, who, as Mr. 
Norris observed, "jumped on to" a Federal regiment from the 
same State, and " whipped it badly." Since that time the vil- 
lage has changed hands continually, and was visited by the 
Federals only a few days previous to Ewell's rapid advance 
ten days ago. 

After immense trouble we procured a feed of corn for the 
horses, and, to Mr. Norris's astonishment, I was impudent 
enough to get food for ourselves by appealing to the kind feel- 
ings of two good-looking -female citizens of Front Royal, who, 
during our supper, entertained us by stories of the manner 
they annoyed the northern soldiers by disagreeable allusions to 
" Stonewall Jackson." 

We started again at 6.30, and crossed two branches of the 
Shenandoah river, a broad and rapid stream. Both the rail- 
way and carriage bridges having been destroyed, we had to 
ford it ; and as the water was deep, we were only just able to 
accomplish the passage. The soldiers, of whom there were a 
number with us, took off their trousers and held their rifles 
and ammunition above their heads. 

Soon afterwards our horses became very leg-weary ; for 
although the weather had been cool, the roads were muddy 
and hard upon them. 

At 8.30 we came up with Pender's division encamped on the 
sides of hills, illuminated with innumerable camp-fires, which 
looked very picturesque. After passing through about two 
miles of bivouacs we begged for shelter in the hayloft of a Mr. 
Mason : we turned our horses into a field, and found our hay- 
loft most luxurious after forty-six miles ride at a foot's pace, 

Stonewall Jackson is considered a regular demigod in this 
country. 

June 22 {Monday). — We started without food or corn at 6.30 



* APPENDIX. 329 

A. M., and soon became entangled with Pender's division on its 
line of march, which delayed us a good deal. My poor brute 
of a horse also took this opportunity of throwing two more 
shoes, which we found it impossible to replace, all the black- 
smiths' shops having been pressed by the troops. 

The soldiers of this division are a remarkably fine body of 
men, and look quite seasoned and ready for any work. Their 
clothing is serviceable, so also are their boots ; but there is the 
usual utter absence of uniformity as to color and shape of their 
garments and hats ; gray of all shades and brown clothing with 
felt hats predominate. The Confederate troops are now entirely 
armed with excellent rifles, mostly Enfields. When they first 
turned out, they were in the habit of wearing numerous revol- 
vers and bowie-knives. General Lee is said to have mildly re- 
marked, " Gentlemen, I think you will find an Enfield rifle, a 
bayonet, and sixty rounds of ammunition as much as you can 
conveniently carry in the way of arms." They laughed and' 
thought they knew better ; but the six-shooters and bowie- 
knives gradually disappeared, and now none are to be seen 
among the infantry. 

The artillery horses are in poor condition, and only get three 
pounds of corn a-day. The artillery is of all kinds — Parrotts, 
Napoleons, rifled and smooth bores, all shapes and sizes ; most 
of them bear the letters U. S., showing that they have changed 
masters. 

The colors of the regiments differ from the blue battle-flags 
I saw with Bragg's army. They are generally red, with a blue 
St. Andrew's Cross showing the stars. This pattern is said to 
have been invented by Gen. Joseph Johnston, as not so liable 
to be mistaken for the Yankee flag. Tlie new Confederate flag 
has evidently been adopted from this battle-flag, as it is called. 
Most of the colors in this division bear the names Manassas, 
Fredericksburg, Seven Pines, Harper's Ferry, Chaucellors- 
ville, &c. 

I saw no stragglers during the time I was with Pender's 
division ; but although the Yirginian army certainly does 
get over a great deal of ground, yet they move at a slow 
dragging pace, and are evidently not good marchers nat- 
urally. As Mr. Norris observed to me, " Befyre this war 
we were a lazy set of devils ; our niggers worked for us, and 



330 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. ^ 

none of us ever dreamed of walking, though we all rode a great 
deal." 

We reached Berryville (eleven miles) at 9 a.m. The head- 
quarters of Gen. Lee are a few hundred yards beyond this 
place. Just before getting there, I saw a general officer of 
handsome appearance, who must, I knew from description, be 
the Commander-in-chief; but as he was evidently engaged I 
did not join him, although I gave my letter of introduction to 
one of his staff. Shortly afterwards, I presented myself to 
Mr. Lawley, with whom I became immediately great friends. 
He introduced me to Gen. Chilton, the Adjutant-general of the 
Army, to Col. Cole, the Quartermaster-general, to Capt. Yen- 
ables, and other officers of Gen. Lee's staff; and he suggested, 
as the headquarters were so busy and crowded, that he and I 
should ride to Winchester at once, and afterwards ask for 
hospitality from the less busy staff of Gen. Longstreet. I was 
also introduced to Capt. Schreibert of the Prussian army, who 
is a guest sometimes of Gen. Lee and sometimes of Gen. Stuart 
of the cavalry. He had been present at one of the late severe 
cavalry skirmishes, which have been of constant occurrence 
since the sudden advance of this army. This advance has 
been so admirably timed as to allow of the capture of Win- 
chester, with its Yankee garrison and stores, and at the same 
time of the seizure of the gaps of the Blue Ridge range. All 
the officers were speaking with regret of the severe wound 
received in this skirmish by Major Yon Borke, another Prus- 
sian, but now in the Confederate States service, and aid-de- 
camp to Jeb Stuart. 

After eating some breakfast, Lawley and I rode ten miles 
into Winchester. My horse, minus his fore-shoes, showed signs 
of great fatigue, but we struggled into Winchester at 5 p.m., 
where I was fortunate enough to procure shoes for the horse, 
and, by Lawley's introduction, admirable quarters for both of 

us at the house of the hospitable Mrs. , with whom he 

had lodged seven months before, and who was charmed to see 
him. Her two nieces, who are as agreeable as they are good- 
looking, gave us a miserable picture of the three captivities 
they have experienced under the Federal commanders, Banks, 
Shields, and Milroy. 

The unfortunate town of Winchester seems to have "been 



APPENDIX. 331 

• 

made a regular shuttlecock of by the contending armies. 
Stonewall Jackson rescued it once, and last Sunday week his 
successor, Gen. Ewell, drove out Milroy. The name of Milroy 
is always associated with that of Butler, and his rule in Win- 
chester seems to have been somewhat similar to that of his 
illustrious rival in New Orleans. Should either of these two 
individuals fall alive into the hands of the Confederates, I im.- 
agine that Jeff. Davis himself would be unable to save their 
lives, even if he were disposed to do so. 

Before leaving Richmond, I heard every one expressing 
regret that Milsoy should have escaped, as the recapture of 
Winchester seemed to be incomplete without him. More than 
four thousand of his men were taken in the two forts which 
overlook the town, and which were carried by assault by a 
Louisianian brigade with trifling loss. 

The joy of the unfortunate inhabitants may easily be con- 
ceived at this sudden and unexpected relief from their last 
captivity, which had lasted six months. During the whole of 
this time they could not legally buy an article of provisions 
without taking the oath of allegiance, which they magnani- 
mously refused to do. 

They were unable to hear a word of their male relations or 
friends, who were all in the Southern army ; they were shut 
up in their houses after 8 p.m., and sometimes deprived of liglit ; 
part of our kind entertainer's house was forcibly occupied by 
a vulgar, ignorant, and low-born Federal officer, ci-devant 
driver of a street car ; and they were constantly subjected to 
the most humiliating insults, on pretence of searching the house 
for arms, documents, <fec. 

To my surprise, however, these ladies spoke of the enemy 
with less violence and rancor than almost any other ladies I 
had met with during my travels through the whole Southern 
Confederacy. When I told them so, they replied that they 
who had seen many men shot down in the streets before their 
own eyes knew what they were talking about, which other and 
more excited Southern women did not. 

Ewell's division is in front and across the Potomac, and 
before I left headquarters this morning I saw Longstreet's corps 
beginning to follow in the same direction. 

June 23 {Tuesday). — Lawley and I went to inspect the site 



332 THE SECOND TEAE OF THE WAK. 

of Mr. Mason's (the Southern Commissioner in London) once 
pretty house — a melancholy scene. It had been charmingly 
situated near the outskirts of the town, and by all accounts 
must have been a delightful little place. When Lawley saw 
it seven months ago, it was then only a ruin ; but since that 
time Northern vengeance (as directed by Gen. Milroy) has 
satiated itself by destroying almost the very foundations of the 
house of this arch-traitor, as they call him. Literally, not one 
stone remains standing upon another ; and the debris seems to 
have been carted away, for there is now a big hole where the 
principal part of the house' stood. Troops' have evidently 
been encamped upon the ground, which was strewed with 
fragments of Yankee clothing, accoutrements, &c. 

I understand that Winchester used to be a most agreeable 
little town, and its society extremely pleasant. Many of its 
houses are now destroyed or converted into hospitals ; the rest 
look miserable and dilapidated. Its female inhabitants (for 
the able-bodied males are all absent in the army) are familiar 
with the bloody realities of war. As many as 5000 wounded 
have been accommodated here at one time. All the ladies are 
accustomed to the bursting of shells and the sight of fighting, 
and all are turned into hospital nurses or cooks. 

From the utter impossibility of procuring corn, I was forced 
to take the horses out grazing a mile beyond the town for four 
hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. As one 
mustn't lose sight of them for a moment, this occupied me all 
day, while Lawley wrote in the house. 

In the evening we went to visit two wounded officers in 

Mrs. 's house, a major and a captain in the Louisiana 

brigade which stormed the forts last Sunday week. I am 
afraid the captain will die. Both are shot through the body, 
but are cheery. They served under Stonewall Jackson until 
his death, and they venerate his name, though they both agree 
that he has got an efficient successor in Ewell, his former com- 
panion in arms ; and they confirmed a great deal of what Gen. 
Johnston had told me as to Jackson having been so much in- 
debted to Ewell for several of his victories. They gave us an 
animated account of the spirits and feeling of the army. , 

At no period of the war, they say, have the men been so 
well equipped, so well clothed, so eager for a fight, or so con- 



APPENDIX. 333 

fident of success — a very different state of affairs from that 
which characterized the Maryland invasion of last year, when 
half of the army were barefooted stragglers, and many of the 
remainder unwilling and reluctant to cross the Potomac. 

Miss told me to-day that dancing and horse-racing are 

forbidden by the Episcopal Church in this part of Virginia. 

June 24 {Wednesday). — Lawley being in weak health, we 
determined to spend another day with our kind friends in 
Winchester. 

I took the horses out again for six hours to graze, and made 
acquaintance with two Irishmen, who gave me some cut grass 
and salt for the horses. One of these men had served and had 
been wounded in the Southern army. I remarked to him that 
he must have killed lots of his own countrymen ; to which he 
replied, " Oh yes, but faix they must all take it as it comes." 
I have always observed that Southern Irishmen make excellent 
" Eebs," and have no sort of scruple in killing as many of their 
Northern brethren as they possibly can. 

I observed to-day many new Yankee graves, which the 
deaths among the captives are constantly increasing. Wooden 
head-posts are put at each grave, on which is written, " An 
Unknown Soldier, U. S. A. Died of wounds received upon the 
field of battle, June 21, 22, or 23, 1863." 

A sentry stopped me to-day as I was going out of town, and 
when I showed him my pass from Gen. Chilton, he replied 
with great firmness, but with perfect courtesy, " I am extreme- 
ly sorry, sir, but if you were the Secretary of War, or Jeff. 
Davis himself, you couldn't pass without a passport from the 
Provost-Marshal." 

June 25 {Thursday). — We took leave of Mrs. and her 

hospitable family, and started at 10 a. m. to overtake Generals 
Lee and Longstreet, who are supposed to be crossing the Po- 
tomac at Williamsport. Before we had got more than a few 
miles on our way, we began to meet horses and oxen, the first 
fruits of Ewell's advance into Pennsylvania. The weather 
was cool and showery, and all went swimmingly for the first 
fourteen miles, when we caught up M'Laws' division, which 
belongs to Longstreet's corps. 

As my horse about this time began to show signs of fatigue, 
and as Lawley's pickaxed most alarmingly, we turned them 



334 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

into some clover to graze, whilst we watched two brigades pass 
along the road. They are commanded, I think, by Semmes and 
Barksdale,* and are composed of Georgians, Mississippians, and 
South Carolinians. They marched very well, and there was 
no attempt at straggling ; quite a different state of things from 
Johnston's men in Mississippi. All were well shod and effi- 
ciently clothed. In rear of each regiment were from twenty to 
thirty negro slaves, and a certain number of unarmed men car- 
rying stretchers, and wearing in their hats the red badges of the 
ambulance corps ; — this is an excellent institution, for it prevents 
unwounded men falling out on pretence of taking wounded to 
the rear. The knapsacks of the men still bear the names of the 
Massachusetts, Yermont, New Jersey, or other regiments to 
which they originally belonged. There were about twenty 
wagons to each brigade, most of which were marked U. S., and 
each of these brigades was about 2,800 strong. There are four 
brigades in M'Laws' division. All the men seemed in the high- 
est spirits, and were cheering and yelling most vociferously. 

We reached Martinsburg (twenty-two miles) by 6 p. m., by 
which time my horse nearly broke down, and I was forced to 
get off and walk. Martinsburg and this part of Virginia is 
supposed to be more Unionist than Southern ; however, many 
of the women went through the form of cheering M'Laws' di- 
vision as it passed. I dare say they would perform the same 
ceremony in honor of the Yankees to-morrow. 

Three miles beyond Martinsburg we were forced by the state 
of our horses to insist upon receiving the unwilling hospitality 
of a very surly native, who was evidently Unionist in his pro- 
clivities. We were obliged to turn our horses into a field to 
graze during the night. iThis is most dangerous, for the Con- 
federate soldier, in spite of his many virtues, is, as a rule, the 
most incorrigible horse-stealer in the world. 

June 26 {Friday). — I got up a little before daylight, and 
notwithstanding the drenching rain, I secured our horses, 
which, to my intense relief, were present. But my horse 
showed a back rapidly getting worse, and both looked " mean" 
+0 a degree. ^ 

Lawley being ill, he declined starting in the rain, anc^our 

* Barksdale was killed,, and Semmes wounded, at the battle of Gettysburg. 



APPENDIX. 335 

liost became more and more surly when we stated our intention 
of remaining with him. However, the sight of real gold in- 
stead of Confederate paper, or even greenbacks, soothed him 
wonderfully, and he furnished us with some breakfast. All 
this time M'Laws' division was passing the door, but so strict 
was the discipline, that the only man who loafed in was imme- 
diately pounced upon and carried away captive. At 2 p. m., 
the weather having become a little clearer, we made a start, 
but under very unpromising circumstances. Lawley was so 
ill that he could hardly ride ; his horse was most unsafe, and 
had cast a shoe ; — my animal was in such a miserable state 
that I had not the inhumanity to ride him ; but, by the as- 
sistance of his tail, I managed to struggle through the deep 
mud and wet. We soon became entangled with M'Laws' di- 
vision, and reached the Potomac, a distance of nine miles and 
a half, at 5 p. m. ; the river is both wide and deep, and in ford- 
ing it (for which purpose I was obliged to mount) we couldn't 
keep our legs out of the water. 

The little town of Williamsport is on the opposite bank of 
the river, and we were now in Maryland. 

We had the mortification to learn that Generals Lee and 
Longstreet had quitted Williamsport this morning at 11 o'clock, 
and were therefore obliged to toil on to Hagerstown, six miles 
further. This latter place is evidently by no means rebel in 
its sentiments, for all the houses were shut up, and many ap- 
parently abandoned. The few natives that were about stared 
at the troops with sulky indifference. • 

After passing through Hagerstown, we could obtain no 
certain information of the whereabouts of the two generals, 
nor could we get any willing hospitality from any one ; but at 
9 p. M., our horses being quite exhausted, we forced ourselves 
into the house of a Dutchman, who became a little more civil 
at the sight of gold, although the assurance that we were 
English travellers, and not rebels, had produced no effect. I 
had walked to-day, in mud and rain, seventeen miles, and I 
dared not take off my solitary pair of boots, because I knew I 
should never ggt' them on again. 

June 27 {Saturday). — Lawley was so ill this morning that 
he couldn't possibly ride ; I therefore mounted his horse a 
little before daybreak, and started in search of the generals. 



336 THE SECOND YEAE OF THE WAR. 

After riding eight miles, I came np with Gen. Longstreet, at 
6.30 A. M., and was only just in time, as he was on the point 
of moving. Both he and his staff were most kind, when I in- 
troduced myself and stated my difficulties ; he arranged that 
an ambulance should fetch Lawley, and he immediately in- 
vited me to join his mess during the campaign ; he told me 
(which I did not know) that we were now in Pennsylvania, the 
enemy's country — Maryland being only ten miles broad at this 
point ; he declared that Bushwhackers exist in the woods, who 
shoot unsuspecting stragglers, and it would therefore be unsafe 
that Lawley and I should travel alone. 

Gen. Longstreet is an Alabamian — a thickset man, forty- 
three years of age ; he was an infantry major in the old army, 
and now commands the 1st corps d'armee ; he is never far 
from Gen. Lee, who relies very much upon his judgment. By 
the soldiers he is invariably spoken of as " the best fighter in 
the whole army." 

Whilst speaking of entering upon the enemy's soil, he said 
to me that although it might be fair, in just retaliation, to apply 
the torch, yet that doing so would demoralize the army and 
ruin its now excellent discipline. Private property is, there- 
fore, to be rigidly protected. 

At 7 A. M., I returned with an orderly (or courier, as they 
are called) to the farmhouse in which I had left Lawley, and 
after seeing all arranged satisfactorily about the ambulance, I 
rode slowly on to rejoin Gen. Longstreet, near Chambersburg, 
which is a Pennsylvania town, distant twenty-two miles from 
Hagerstown. I was with McLaws' division, and observed that 
the moment they entered Pennsylvania the troops opened the 
fences and enlarged the road about twenty yards on each side, 
which enabled the wagons and themselves to proceed together : 
this is the only damage I saw done by the Confederates. 

This part of Pennsylvania is very flourishing, highly culti- 
vated, and, in comparison with the Southern States, thickly 
peopled. But all the cattle and horses having been seized by 
Ewell, farm labor had now come to a complete stand-still. 

In passing through Greencastle, we found al^the houses and 
windows shut up, the natives in their Sunday clothes standing 
at their doors regarding.the troops in a very unfriendly man- 
ner. I saw no straggling into the houses, nor were any of the 



APPENDIX, 337 

inhabitants disturbed or annoyed by the soldiers. Sentries 
were placed at the doors of many of the best houses, to prevent 
any officer or soldier from getting in on any pretence. 

I entered Chambersburg at 6 p. m. This is a town of some 
size and importance : all its houses were shut up, but the na- 
tives were in the streets, or at the upper Mandows, looking in 
a scowling and bewildered manner at the Confederate troops, 
who were marching gayly past to the tune of Dixie's Land. 

The women (many of whom were pretty and well dressed) 
were particularly sour and disagreeable in their remarks. I 
heard one of them say, " Look at Pharaoh's army going to the 
Red Sea." Others were pointing and laughing at Hood's rag- 
ged Jacks, who were passing at the time. This division, well 
known for its fighting qualities, is composed of Texans, Ala- 
bamians and Arkansians, and they certainly are a queer lot to 
look at. They carry less than any other troops ; many of them 
have only' got an old piece of carpet or rug as baggage ; many 
have discarded their shoes in the mud ; all are ra^ffed and 
dirty, but full of good-humor and confidence in themselves and 
in their general, Hood. They answered the numerous taunts 
of the Chambersburg ladies with cheers and laughter. One 
female had seen fit to adorn her ample bosom with a huge 
Yankee flag, and she stood at the door of her house, her coun- 
tenance expressing the greatest contempt for the barefooted 
Kebs ; several companies passed her without taking any notice, 
but at length a Texan gravely remarked, " Take care, madam, 
for Hood's boys are great at storming breastworks when the 
Yankee colors is on them." After this speech, the patriotic 
lady beat a precipitate retreat. 

Sentries were placed at the doors of all the principal houses, 
and the town was cleared of all but the military passing 
through or on duty. Some of the troops marched straight 
through the town, and bivouacked on the Carlisle road. Oth- 
ers turned off to the right, and occupied the Gettysburg turn- 
pike. I found Generals Lee and Longstreet encamped on the 
latter road, three-quarters of a mile from the town. 

Gen. Longstreet and his staff at once received me into their 
mess, and I wa& introduced to Major Faii'fax, Major Latrobe, 
and Capt. Rogers of his personal staff ^ also to Major Moses, 
the Chief Commissary, whiose tent I am to share. He is the 

23 



338 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

most jovial, amusing, and clever son of Israel I ever had the 
good fortune to meet. The other officers on Longstreet's head- 
quarter staff are Col. Sorrell, Lieut-col. Manning (ordnance 
officer). Major Walton, Capt. Gorce, and Major Clark, all ex- 
cellent good fellows, and most hospitable.* 
■ Lawlej is to live with three doctors on the headquarter 
staff: their names are Cullen, Barksdale, and. Maury ; they 
form a jolly trio, and live much more luxuriously than their 
generals. 

Major Moses tells me that his orders are to open the stores 
in Cliambersburg by force, and seize all that is wanted for the 
army in a regular and official manner, giving in return its value 
in Confederate money, on a receipt. The- storekeepers have 
doubtless sent away their most valuable goods, on the approach 
of the Confederate army. Much also has been already seized 
by Ewell, who passed through nearly a week ago. But Moses 
was much elated at having already discovered a large supply 
of excellent felt hats, hidden away in a cellar, which he " an- 
nexed" at once. 

I was told this evening the numbers which have crossed the 
Potomac, and also the number of pieces of artillery. We have 
a large train of ammunition, for if the army advances any 
deeper into the enemy's country. Gen. Lee cannot expect to 
keep his communications open to the rear ; and as the staff 
officers say, " In every battle we fight, we must capture as 
much ammunition as we use." This necessity, however, does 
not seem to disturb them, as it has hitherto been their regular 
style of doing business. 

Ewell, after the capture of Winchester, advanced rapidly 
into Pennsylvania, and has already sent back great quantities 
of horses, mules, wagons, beeves, and other necessaries ; he is 
now at or beyond Carlisle, laying the country under contribu- 
tion, and making Pennsylvania support the war, instead of 



* Having lived at the headquarters of all the principal Confederate generals, 
I am able to affirm that the relation between their staffs and themselves, and 
the way the duty is carried on, is very similar to what it is in the British 
army. All the generals — Johnston, Bragg, Polk, Hardee, Longstreet, and Lee — 
are thorough soldiers, and their staffs are composed of gentlemen of position' 
and education, who have now been trained into excellent and zealous staff 
officers. 



APPENDIX. 339 

poor, iised-iip, and worn-out Yirginia. The corps of Generals 
A. P. Hill and Longsfreet are now near this place, all full of 
confidence and in high spirits. 

Ju7ie 2S {Sunday). — No officer or soldier under the rank of a 
general is allowed into Chambersburg without a special order 
from Gen. Lee, which he is very chary of giving ;• and I hear 
of officers of rank being refused this pass. 

Moses proceeded into town at 11 a. m., with an official requi- 
sition for three days' rations for the whole army in this neigh- 
borhood. These rations he is to seize by force, if not volun- 
tarily supplied. 

I was introduced to Gen. Hood this morning ; he is a tall, 
thin, wiry-looking man, with a grave face and a light-colored 
beard, thirty-three years old, and is accounted one of the best 
and most promising officers in the army. 

By his Texan and Alabamian troops he is adored ; he for- 
merly commanded the Texan brigade, but has now been pro- 
moted to the command of a division. His troops are accused 
of being a wild set, and difficult to manage ; and it is the great 
object of the chiefs to check their innate plundering propensi- 
ties by every means in their power. 

I went into Chambersburg at noon, and found Lawley en- 
sconced in the Franklin Hotel. Both he and I had much diffi- 
culty in getting into that establishment — the doors being locked, 
and only opened with the greatest caution, Lawley had had a 
most painful journey in the ambulance yesterday, and was much 
exhausted. No one in the hotel would take the slightest notice 
of him, and all scowled at me in a most disagreeable manner. 

Half-a-dozen Pennsylvanian viragos surrounded arid assailed 
me with their united tongues to a deafening degree. Nor would 
they believe me when I told them I was an English spectator 
and a non-combatant : they said I must be either a rebel or a ' 
Yankee — by which expression I learnt for the first time that 
the term Yankee is as much used as a reproach in Pennsylva- 
nia as in the South. The sight of gold, which I exchanged for 
their greenbacks, brought about a change, and by degrees they 
became quite affable. They seemed very ignorant, and con- 
fused Texan s with Mexicans. 

After leaving Lawley pretty comfortable, I walked about the 
town and witnessed the pressing operations of Moses and his 



340 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 

myrmidons. Neither the mayor nor the corporation were to 
be found anywhere, nor were the keys of the principal stores 
forthcoming until Moses began to apply the axe. The citizens 
were lolling about the streets in a listless manner, and showing 
no great signs of discontent. They had left to their women 
the task of resisting the commissaries — a duty which they were 
fully competent to perform. No soldiers but those on duty 
were visible in the streets. 

In the evening I called again to see Lawley, and found in 
his room an Austrian officer, in the full uniform of the Hunga- 
rian hussars. He had got a year's leave of absence, and has 
just succeeded in crossing the Potomac, though not without 
much trouble and difficulty. When he stated his intention of 
wearing his uniform, I explained to him the invariable custom 
of the Confederate soldiers, of never allowing the smallest pe- 
culiarity of dress or appearance to pass without a torrent of 
jokes, which, however good-humored, end in becoming rather 
monotonous. * 

I returned to camp at 6 p. m. Major Moses did not get back 
till very late, much depressed at the ill-success of his mission. 
He had searched all day most indefatigably, and had endured 
much contumely from the Union ladies, who called him "a 
thievish little rebel scoundrel," and other opprobrious epithets. 
But this did not annoy him so much as the manner in which 
every thing he wanted had been sent away or hidden in private 
houses, which he is not allowed, by Gen. Lee's order, to search. 

He has only managed to secure a quantity of molasses, sugar, 
and whiskey. Poor Moses is thoroughly exhausted, but he 
endures the chaff of his brother officers with much good-humor, 
and they make him continually repeat the different names he 
has been called. He says that at first the women refused his 
Confederate " trash" with great scorn, but they ended in being 
very particular about the odd cents. 

June 29 {Monday). — We are still at Chambersburg. Lee 
has issued a remarkably good order on non-retaliation, which 
is generally well received ; but I have heard of complaints 
from fire-eaters, who want vengeance for their wrongs ; and 
when one considers the numbers of officers and soldiers with 
this army, who have been totally ruined by the devastations of 
Northern troops, one cannot be much surprised at this feeling. 



APPENDI^. 341 

I went into Chambersburg again, and witnessed the singu- 
larly good behavior of the troops towards the citizens. I 
heard soldiers saying to one another that they did not like 
being in a town in which they were very naturally detested. 
To any one who has seen, as I have, the ravages of the North- 
ern troops in Southern towns, this forbearance seems most com- 
mendable and surprising. Yet these Pennsylvania Dutch* 
don't seem the least thankful, and really appear to be unaware 
that their own troops have been for two years treating South- 
ern towns with ten times more harshness. They are the most 
unpatriotic people I ever saw, and openly state that they don't 
care which side wins provided they are left alone. They abuse 
Lincoln tremendously. 

Of course, in such a large army as this, there must be many 
instances of bad characters, who are always ready to, plunder 
and pillage whenever they can do so without being caught : 
the stragglers, also, who remain behind when the army has left, 
will doubtless do much harm. It is impossible to prevent this ; 
but every thing that can be done is done to protect private prop- 
erty and non-combatants, and I can say, from my own obser- 
vation, with wonderful success. I hear instances, however, in 
which soldiers meeting well-dressed citizens have made a " long 
arm" and changed hats, much to the disgust of the latter, who 
are still more annoyed when an exchange of boots is also pro- 
posed: their superfine broadcloth is never in any danger. 

Gen. Longstreet is generally a particularly taciturn man, but 
this evening he and I had a long talk about Texas, where he 
had been quartered a long time. He remembered many people 
whom I had met quite well, and was much amused by the de- 
scription of my travels through that country. I complimented 
him upon the manner in which the Confederate sentries do their 
duty, and said they were quite as strict as, and ten times more 
polite than, regular soldiers. He replied, laugliing, that a sen- 
try, after refusing you leave to enter a camp, might very lively, 
if properly asked, show you. another way in, by which you 
might avoid meeting a sentry at all. 

I saw Gen. Pendleton and Gen. Pickett to-day. Pendleton 

* Tliis part of Pennsylvania is much peopled with the descendants of Ger- 
mans, who speak an unintelligible language. 



I^vt 



342 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

is chief of artillery to the army, and was a West Pointer; but 
in more peaceable times he fills the post of Episcopal clergy- 
man, in Lexington, Virginia. Unlike Gen. Polk, he unites the 
military and clerical professions together, and continues to 
preach whenever he gets a chance. On these occasions he 
wears a surplice over his uniform. 

Gen. Pickett commands one of the divisions in Longstreet's 
oorps.* He wears his hair in long ringlets, and is altogether 
rather a desperate-looking character. He is the officer who, as 
Capt. Pickett, of the United States army, figured in the diffi- 
culty between the British and United States in the San Juan 
Island afi'air, under Gen. Harney, four or five years ago. 

June 30 {Tuesday). — This morning, before marching from 
Chambersburg, Gen. Longstreet introduced me to the Com- 
mander-in-chief. Gen. Lee is, almost without exception, the 
handsomest man of his age I ever saw. He is fifty-six years 
old, tall, broad-shouldered, very well made, well set up — a 
thorough soldier in appearance; and his manners are most 
courteous and full of dignity. He is a perfect gentleman in 
every respect. I imagine no man has so few eneuiies, or is so 
universally esteemed. Throughout the South, all agree in pro- 
nouncing him to be as near perfection as a man can be. He 
has none of the small vices, such as smoking, drinking, chew- 
ing, or swearing, and his bitterest enemy never accused him of 
any of the greater ones. He generally wears a well-worn long 
gray jacket, a high black felt hat, and blue trousers tucked 
into his Wellington boots. I never saw him carry arms;t and 
the only mark of his military rank are the three stars on his 
collar. He rides a handsome horse, which is extremely well 
groomed. He himself is very neat in his dress and person, and 
in the most arduous marches he always looks smart and 
clean.:}: 

Li the old army he was always considered one of its best 
officers ; and at the outbreak of these troubles he was lieu- 

* McLaws, Hood, and Pickett are the three divisional commanders or major- 
generals in Longstreet's corps d'armie. 

f I never saw either Lee or Longstreet carry arms. A. P. Hill geuerally 
wears a sword, 

:j; I observed this during the three days' fighting at Gettysburg, and in the 
retreat afterwards, when every one else looked, and was, extrem'^ly dirty. 



APPENDIX. 343 

tenant-colonel of the 2d cavalry. He was a rich man, but his 
fine estate was one of the first to fall into the enemy's hands. 
I believe he has never slept in a house since he has commanded 
the Yirginian army, and he invariably declines all ofi'ers of hos- 
pitality, for fear the person ofi'ering it may afterwards get into 
trouble for having sheltered the rebel general. The relations 
between him and Longstreet are quite touching — they are al- 
most always together. Longstreet's corps complain of this 
sometimes, as they say that they seldom get a chance of de- 
tached service, which falls to the lot of Ewell. It is impossible 
to please Longstreet more than by praising Lee. I believe these 
two generals to be as little ambitious and as thoroughly unself- 
ish as any men in the world. Both long for a successful ter- 
mination of the war, in order that they may retire into obscu- 
rity. Stonewall Jackson (until his death the third in command 
of their army) was just such another simple-minded servant of 
his country. It is understood that Gen, Lee is a religious man, 
though not so demonstrative in that Tespect as Jackson, and, 
unlike his late brother in arms, he is a member of the Church 
of England. His only faults, so far as I can learn, arise from 
his excessive amiability. 

Some Texan soldiers were sent this morning into Charabers- 
burg to destroy a number of barrels of excellent whisky, which 
could not be carried away. This was a pretty good trial foi 
their discipline, and they did think it rather hard lines that the 
only time they had been allowed into the enemy's town was 
for the purpose of destroying their beloved whisky. However, 
they did their duty like good soldiers. 

We marched six miles on the road towards Gettysburg, and 
encamped at a village called (I think) Greenwood. I rode 
Lawley's old horse, he and the Austrian using the doctor's am- 
bulance. 

In the evening Gen. Longstreet told me that he had just re- 
ceived intelligence that Hooker had been disrated, and that 
Meade was appointed in his place. Of course he knew both 
of them in the old army, and he says that Meade is an honor- 
able and respectable man, though not, perhaps, so held as 
Hooker. 

I had a long talk with many officers about the approaching 
battle, which evidently cannot now be delayed long, and will 



344 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAB. 

take place on this road instead of in the direction of Harris- 
burg, as we had "supposed. Ewell, who has laid York as well 
as Carlisle under contribution, has been ordered to reunite. 

Every one, of course, speaks with confidence. I remarked 
that it would be a good thing for them if on this occasion they 
had cavahy to follow up the broken infantry in the event of 
their 'succeeding in beating them. But to my surprise they all 
spoke of their cavalry as not efficient for that purpose. In 
fact, Stuart's men, though excellent at making raids, capturing 
wagons and stores, and cutting off communications, seem to 
have no idea of charging infantry under any circumstances. 
Unlike the cavalry with Bragg's army they wear swords, but 
seem to have little idea of using them — they hanker after their 
carbines and revolvers. They constantly ride with their swords 
between their left leg and the saddle, which has a very funny 
appearance ; but their horses are generally good, and they 
ride well. The infantry and artillery of this army don't seem 
to respect the cavalry very much, and often jeer at them. 

I was forced to abandon my horse here, as he was now lame 
in three legs, besides having a very sore back. 

July 1 ( Wednesday). — We did not leave our camp till noon, 
as nearly all Gen. Hill's corps had to pass our quarters on its 
march towards Gettysburg. One division of Ewell's also had 
to join in a little beyond Greenwood, and Longstreet's corps 
had to bring up the rear. 

During the morning I made the acquaintance of Col. Walton, 
who used to command the well-known Washington Artillery, 
but he is now chief of artillery to Longstreet's corps d''arinee / 
he is a big man, ci-devant auctioneer in New Orleans, and I 
understand he pines to return to his hammer. 

Soon after starting we got into a pass in the South mountain, 
a continuation, I believe, of the Blue Ridge range, which is 
broken by the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. The scenery 
through the pass is very fine. 

The first troops, alongside of whom we rode, belonged to 
Johnson's division of Ewell's corps. Among them I saw, for 
the fiiist time, the celebrated " Stonewall Brigade," formerly 
commanded by Jackson. In appearance the men difier little 
from other Confederate soldiers, except, perhaps, that the bri- 
gade contains more elderly men and fewer boys. All (except, 



APPENDIX. 345 

I think, one regiment) are Yirginians. As they have nearly 
always been on detached duty, few of them knew Gen. Lono-- 
street except by reputation. Numbers of them asked lae 
whether the general in front was Longstreet, and when I an- 
swered in the affirmative, many would run on a hundred yards 
in order to take a good look at him. This I take to be an im- 
mense compliment from a,nj soldier on a long march. 

At 2 p. M., firing became distinctly audible in our front, but 
although it increased as' we progressed, it did not seem to be 
very heavy. A spy who was with us insisted upon there being 
"a pretty tidy bunch of hlue-bellles in. or near Gettysburg," 
and he declared that he was in their society three days ago. 

After passing Johnson's division, we came to a Florida bri- 
gade, which is now in Hill's corps, but as it had formerly served 
under Longstreet, the men knew him well. Some of them 
(after the general had passed) called out to their comrades, 
" Look out for work now, boys, for here's the old bull-dog 
again." 

At 3 p. M. we began to meet wounded men coming to the 
rear, and the number of these soon increased most rapidly, 
some hobbling alone, others on stretchers carried by the am- 
bulance corps, and others in the ambulance wagons ; many of 
the latter were stripped nearly naked, and displayed very bad 
wounds. This spectacle, so revolting to a person unaccustomed 
to such sights, produced no impression whatever upon the ad- 
vancing troops, who certainly go under fire with the most per- 
fect nonchalance : they show no enthusiasm or excitement, but 
the most complete indifference. This is the effect of two years 
almost uninterrupted fighting. 

We now began to meet Yankee prisoners coming to the rear 
in considerable numbers ; many of them were wounded, but 
they seemed already to be on excellent terms with their cap- 
tors, with whom they had commenced swapping canteens, 
tobacco, &c. Among them was a Pennsylvanian colonel, a 
miserable object from a wound in his face. In answer to a 
question, I heard one of them remark, with a laugh, "We're 
pretty nigh whipped already." We next came to a Confeder- 
ate soldier carrying a Yankee color, belonging, I think, to a 
Pennsylvanian regiment, which he told us he had just cap- 
tured. 



346 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

At 4.30 P.M. we came in siglit of Gettysburg and joined 
Gen. Lee and Gen. Hill, who were on the top of one of the 
ridges which form the peculiar feature of the country round 
Gettysburg. We could see the enemy retreating up one of the 
opposite ridges, pursued by the Confederates with loud yells. 

The position into which the enemy had been driven was evi- 
dently a strong one. His right appeared to rest on a ceme- 
tery, on the top of a high ridge to the right of Gettysburg, as 
we looked at it. 

Gen. Hill now came up and told me he had been very un- 
w^ell all day, and in fact he looks very delicate. He said he 
had had two divisions engaged, and had driven the enemy four 
miles into his present position, capturing a great many prison- 
ers, some cannon, and some colors ; he said, however, that the 
Yankees had fought with a determination unusual to them. 
He pointed out a railway cutting, in wliich they had made a 
good stand ; also a field, in the centre of which he had seen a 
man plant the regimental color, round which the regiment had 
fought for some time with much obstinacy, and when at last it 
was obliged to retreat, the color-bearer retired last of all, turn- 
ing round every now and then to shake his fist at the advancing 
rebels. Gen. Hill said he felt quite sorry when he saw this 
gallant Yankee meet his doom. 

Gen. Ewell had come up at 3.30, on the enemy's right (with 
part of his corps), and completed h'is discomfiture. 

Gen. Reynolds, one of the best Yankee generals, was re- 
ported killed. Whilst we were talking, a message arrived 
from Gen. Ewell, requesting Hill to press the enemy in the 
front, whilst he performed the same operation on his right. . 
The pressure was accordingly applied in a mild degree, but the 
enemy were too strongly posted, and it was too late in the 
evening for a regular attack. 

The town of Gettysburg was now occupied by Ewell, and 
was full of Yankee dead and wounded. 

I climbed up a tree in the most commanding place I could 
find, and could form a pretty good general idea of the enemy's 
position, although the top of the ridges being covered with 
pine woods, it was very difficult to see any thing of the troops 
concealed in them. 

The firing ceased about dark, at which time I rode back with 



Appendix. 347 

Gen. Longstreet and his staff, to his headquarters at Cashtown, 
a little village eight miles from Gettysburg. At that time 
troops were pouring along the road, and were being marched 
towards the position they are to occupy to-morrow. 

In the fight to-day nearly 6,000 prisoners had been taken, 
and ten guns. About 20,000 men must have been on the field 
on the Confederate side. The enemy had two .corjps d'armee 
engaged. All the prisoners belong, I think, to the 1st and 
11th corps. This day's work was called a " brisk little scurry," 
and all anticipate a " big battle" to-morrow. 

I observed that the artillerymen in charge of the horses dig 
themselves little holes like graves, throwing up the- earth at 
the upper end. They ensconce themselves in these holes when 
under tire. 

At supper this evening Gen. Longstreet spoke of the enemy's 
position as being " very formidable." He also said that they 
would doubtless intrench themselves strongly during the 
night.* 

The staff-officers spoke of the battle as a certainty, and the 
universal feeling in the army was one of profound conteujpt 
for an enemy whom they have beaten so constantly, and under 
so many disadvantages. 

July 2 {Thursday). — We all got up at 3.30 a. m., and break- 
fasted a little before daylight. Lawley insisted on riding, 

notwithstanding his illness. Captain and I were in a 

dilemma for horses, but I was accommodated by Major Clark 
(of this staff), whilst the stout Austrian was mounted by Major 
Walton. 

Col. Sorrell, the Austrian, and I arrived .at 5 a. m. at the 
same commanding position we were on yesterday, and I climbed 
up a tree in company with Captain Schreibert, of the Prussian 
army. 

Just below us were seated Gens. Lee, Hill, Longstreet, and 
Hood, in consultation — the two latter assisting their delibera- 
tions by the truly American custom of whittling sticks. Gen. 
Heth was also present ; he was wounded in the head, yester- 



* I have tlie best reasons for supposing that the fight came off prematurely, 
and that neither Lee nor Longstreet intended that it should have begun that 
day. I also think that their plans were deranged by the events of the first. 



348 THE SECOND TEAR O? THE WAR. 

day, and although not allowed to command his brigade, he 
insists upon coming to the field. 

At 7 A. M. I rode over part of the ground with Gen. Long- 
street, and saw him disposing M'Laws' division for to-day's 
fight. The enemy occupied a series of high ridges, the tops of 
which were covered with trees, but the intervening valleys 
between their ridges and ours were mostly-open, and partly 
under cultivation. The cemetery was on their right, and their 
left appeared. to rest upon a high rocky hill. The enemy's forces, 
which were now supposed to comprise nearly the whole Poto- 
mac army, were concentrated into a space apparently not 
more than a couple of miles in length. 

Tlie Confederates inclosed' them in a sort of semicircle, and 
the extreme extent of our position must have been from five to 
six miles, at least. Ewell was on our left ; his headquarters in 
a church (with a high cupola) at Gettysburg ; Hill in the centre ; 
and Longstreet on the right. Our ridges were also covered 
with pine woods at the tops, and gene^'ally on the rear slopes. 
The artillery of both sides confronted each other at the edges 
of these belts of trees, the troops being completely hidden. 
The enemy was evidently intrenched, but the Southerns had 
not broken ground at all. A dead silence reigned till 4.45 
p. M., and no one would have imagined that such masses of 
men and such a powerful artillery were about to commence 
the work of destruction at that hour. 

Only two divisions of Longstreet were present to-day — viz., 
M'Laws' and Hood's — Pickett being still in the rear. As the 
whole morning was evidently to be occupied in disposing the 
troops for the attack, I rode to the extreme right with Colonel 
Manning ^nd Major Walton, where we ate quantities of cher- 
ries, and got a feed of corn for our horses. We also bathed in 
a small stream, but not without some trepidation on my part, 
for we were almost beyond the lines, and were exposed to the 
enemy's cavalry. 

At 1 p. M. I met a quantity of Yankee prisoners, who had 
been picked up straggling. They told me they belonged to 
Sickles' corps (3d, I think), and had arrived from Emmetts- 
burg during the night. 

About this time skirmishing began along part of the line, 
but not heavily. 



APPENDIX. 349 

At 2 p. M. Gen. Longstreet advised me, if I wished to have a 
good view of the battle, to return to my tree of yesterday. I 
did so, and remained there with Lawley and Capt. Schreibert 
during the rest of the afternoon. But until 4.45 p. m. all was 
profoundly still, and we began to doubt whether a fight was 
coming ofi:' to-day at all. At that time, however, Longstreet 
suddenly commenced a heavy cannonade on the right. Ewell 
immediately took it up on the left. The enemy replied with 
at least equal fury, and in a few moments the firing along the 
whole line was as heavy as it is possible to conceive. A dens§ 
smoke arose for six miles ; there was little wind to drive it 
away, and the air seemed full of shells — each of which seemed 
to have a different style of going and to make a different noise 
from the others. The ordnance on both sides is of a very varied 
description. 

Every now and then a caisson would blow up — if a Federal 
one, a Confederate yell would immediately follow. The South- 
ern troops, when charging, or to express their delight, always 
yell in a manner peculiar to themselves. The Yankee cheer 
is much more like ours ; but the Confederate ofiicers declare 
that the rebel yell has a particular merit, and always produces 
a salutary and useful effect upon their adversaries. A corps is 
sometimes spoken of as a " good yelling regiment." 

So soon as the firing began, Gen. Lee joined Hill just below 
our tree, and he remained there nearly all the time, looking 
through his field-glass — sometimes talking to Hill and some- 
times to Col. Long of his staff. But generally he sat quite 
alone on the stump of a tree. 

"What I remarked especially was, that during the whole time 
the firing continued, he only sent one message, and only re- 
ceived one report. It is evidently his system to arrange the 
plan thoroughly with the three corps commanders, and then 
leave to them the duty of modifying and carrying it out to the 
best of their abilities. 

When the cannonade was at its height, a Confederate band' 
of music, between the cemetery and om'selves, began to play 
polkas and waltzes, which sounded very curious, accompanied 
by the hissing and bursting of the shells. 

At 5.45 all became comparatively quiet on our left and in 
the cemetery ; but volleys of musketry on the right told us 



350 THR SJICOND TKAR OF THE "WAR. 

that Longstreet's infantry were advancing, and the onward 
progress of the smoke showed that he was progressing favor- 
ably ; but about 6.30 there seemed to be a check, and even a 
slight retrograde movement. Soon after 7, Gen. Lee got a re- 
port by signal from Longstreet to say " we are doing wellP 

A little before dark the firing dropped off in every direction, 
and soon ceased altogether. 

We then received intelligence that Longstreet had carried 
everj^ thing before him for some time, capturing several batter- 
ies, and driving the enemy from his positions ; but when Hill's 
Florida brigade and some other troops gave way, he was forced 
to abandon a small portion of the ground he had won, together 
with all the captured guns, except three. 

His troops, however, bivouacked during the night on ground 
occupied by the enemy this morning. 

Every one deplores that Longstreet will expose himself in 
such a reckless manner. To-day he led a Georgian regiment 
in a charge against a battery, hat in hand, and in front of every- 
body. Gen. Barksdale was killed and Semmes wounded ; but 
the most serious loss was that of Gen. Hood, who was badly 
wounded in the arm early in the day. I heard that his Texans 
are in despair. Lawley and I rode back to the general's camp, 
which had been moved to within a mile of the scene of action. 
Longstreet, however, with most of his staff, bivouacked on the 
field. 

Major Fairfax arrived at about 10 p. m. in a very bad humor. 
He had under his charge about 1,000 to 1,500 Yankee prisoners 
who had been taken to-day, among them a general, whom I 
heard one of his men accusing of having been " so G — d d — d 
drunk that he had turned his guns upon his own men." But 
on the other hand, the accuser was such a thundering black- 
guard, and proposed taking such a variety of oaths in order to 
escape from the United States army, that he is not worthy of 
much credit. A large train of horses and mules, &c., arrived 
to-day, sent in by Gen, Stuart, and captured, it is understood, 
by his cavalry, which had penetrated to within six miles of 
Washington. 

July 3 {Friday).— M 6 a. m. I rode to the field with Col. 
Manning, and went over that portion of the ground which 
after a fierce contest had been won from the enemy yesterday 



APPENDIX. 351 

evening. The dead were being buried, but great numbers 
were still lying about ; also many mortally wounded, for whom 
nothing could be done. Amongst the latter were a number of 
Yankees dressed in bad imitations of the Zouave costume. 
They opened their glazed eyes as I rode past in a painfully im- 
ploring manner. 

We joined Generals Lee and Longstreet's staff: they were 
reconnoitring and making preparations for renewing the attack. 
As we formed a pretty large party, we often drew upon our- 
selves the attention of the hostile sharpshooters, and were two 
or three times favored with a shell. One of these shells set a 
brick building on hre which was situated between the lines. 
This building was filled with wounded, principally Yankees, 
who, I am afraid, must have perished miserably in the flames. 
Col. Sorrell had been slightly wounded yesterday, but still 
did duty. Major Walton's horse was killed, but there were no 
other casualties among my particular friends. 

The plan of yesterday's attack seems to have been very sim- 
ple — first a heavy cannonade all along the line, followed by an 
advance of Longstreet's two divisions, and part of Hill's corps. 
In consequence of the enemy's having been driven back some 
distance, Longstreet's corps (part of it) was in a much more 
forward situation than yesterday. But the range of heights to 
be gained was still more formidable, and evidently strongly 
intrenched. 

The distance between the Confederate guns and the Yankee 
position — i. e., between the woods crowning the opposite ridges 
— was at least a mile, quite open, gently undulating, and ex- 
posed to artillery the whole distance. This was the ground 
which had to be crossed in to-day's attack. Pickett^s division, 
which had just come up, was to bear the b'runt in Longstreet's 
attack, together with Heth and Pettigrew in Hill's corps. 
Pickett's division was a weak one (under 5,000), owing to the 
absence of two brigades. 

At noon all Longstreet's dispositions were made ; his troops 
for attack were deployed into line, and lying down in the 
woods ; his batteries were ready to open. The general then 
dismounted and went to sleep for a short time. 

Capt. and I now rode off to get, if possible, into some 

commanding position, from whence we could see the whole 



352 THE SECOND TKAK OF THE WAR. 

thing without being exposed to the tremendous fire which was 
about to commence. After riding about for half an hour with- 
out being able to discover so desirable a situation, we deter- 
mined to make for the cupola, near Gettysburg, Ewell's head- 
quarters. Just before we reached the entrance to the town, 
the cannonade opened with a fnry which surpassed even that 
of yesterday. 

Soon after passing through the toll-gate at the entrance of 
Gettysburg, we found that we had got into a heavy cross-fire ; 
shells, both Federal and Confederate, passing* over our heads 
with great frequency-. 

At length two shrapnell shells burst quite close to us, and a 
ball from one of them hit the officer who was conducting us. 
"We then turned round and changed our views with regard to 
the cupola — the fire of one side being bad enough, but prefer- 
able to that of both sides. A small boy of twelve years was 
riding with us at the time ; this urchin took a diabolical inter- 
est in the bursting of the shells, and screamed with delight 
when he saw them take effect. I never saw this boy again, or 
found out who he was. The road at Gettysburg was lined with 
Yankee dead, and a^they had been killed on the 1st, the poor 
fellows had already begun to be very offensive. We then re- 
turned to the hill I was on yesterday. But finding that, to see 
the actual fighting, it was absolutely necessary to go into the 
thick of the thing, I determined to make my way to Gen. 
Longstreet. It was then about 2.30. After passing Gen. Lee 
and his staff, I rode on through the woods in the direction in 
which I had left Longstreet. I soon began to meet many 
wounded men returning from the front ; and many of them 
asked in piteous tones the way to a doctor or an ambulance. 
The further I got the greater became the number of the 
wounded. At last I came to a perfect stream of them flocking 
through the woods in numbers as great as the crowd in Oxford- 
street in the middle of the day. Some were walking alone 
on crutches composed of two rifles, others were supported by 
men less badly wounded than themselves, and others were car- 
ried on stretchers by the ambulance corps ; but in no case did 
I see a sound man helping the wounded to the rear, unless he 
carried the red badge of the ambulance corps. They were 
still under a heavy fire ; the shells were continually bringing 



APPENDIX. 353 

down great limbs of trees, and carrying further destruction 
amongst this melancholy procession. I saw all this in much 
less time than it takes to write it, and although astonished to 
meet such vast numbers of wounded, I had not seen enough to 
give me any idea of the real extent of the mischief. 

When I got close up to Gen. Longstreet, I saw one of his 
regiments advancing through the woods in good order ; so 
thinking I was just in time to see the attack, I remarked to 
the general that " / wouldn't have missed this for any thing^ 
Longstreet was seated at the top of a snake fence at the edge 
of the wood, and looking perfectly calm and unperturbed. 
He replied laughing, " The devil you wouldnH ! 1 would like 
to have missed it very much / we^ve attacked and been repulsed: 
look there /" 

For the first time I then had a view of the open space be- 
tween the two positions, and saw it covered with Confederates 
slowly and sulkily returning towards us in small broken par- 
ties, under a heavy fire of artillery. But the fire where we 
were was not so bad as further to the rear ; for although the 
air seemed alive with shell, yet the greater number burst 
behind us. 

The general told me that Pickett's division had succeeded 
in carrying the enemy's position and capturing his guns, but 
after remaining there twenty minutes, it had been forced to 
retire, on the retreat of Heth and Pettigrew on its left. 

No person could have been more calm or self-possessed than 
Gen. Longstreet, under these trying circumstances, aggravated 
as they now were by the movements of the enemy, who began 
to show a strong disposition to advance. I could now thor- 
oughly appreciate the term bulldog, which I had heard applied 
to him by the soldiers. Difficulties seem to make no other 
impression upon him than to make him a little more savage. 

Major Walton was the only ofiicer with him when I came 
up — all the rest had been put into the charge. In a few min- 
utes Major Latrobe arrived on foot, carrying his saddle, having 
just had his horse killed. Col. Sorrell was also in the same 
perdicament, and Capt. Gorce's horse was wounded in the 
mouth. 

The general was making the best arrangements in his power 
to resist the threatened advance, by advancing some artillery, 

23 



354 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

rallying the stragglers, &c. I remember seeing a general 
(Pettigrew, I think it was) come up to him, and report that 
" he was unable to bring his men up again." Longstreet 
turned upon him and replied with some sarcasm, " Very well , 
never m,ind, then^ general / just let them remain where they are / 
the enemy's going to advance^ and will spare you the troubled 

He asked for something to drink : I gave him some rum 
out of my silver flask, which I begged he would keep in re- 
membrance of the occasion ; — he smiled, and, to my great 
satisfaction, accepted the memorial. He then went off to give 
some orders to M'Laws' division. 

Soon afterwards I joined Gen. Lee, who had in the mean 
while come to the front on becoming aware of the disaster. 
If Longstreet's conduct was admirable, that of Gen. Lee was 
perfectly sublime. He was engaged in rallying and in encourag- 
ing the broken troops, and was riding about a little in front of 
the wood, quite alone — the whole of his staff being engaged 
in a similar manner further to the rear. His face, which is 
always placid and cheerful, did not show signs of the slightest 
disappointment, care, or annoyance ; and he was addressing 
to every soldier he met a few words of encouragement, such as, 
" All this will come right in the end ; we'll talk it over after- 
wards ; but, in the mean time, all good men must rally. "We 
want all good and true men just now," &c. He spoke to all the 
wounded men that passed him, and the slightly wounded he 
exhorted " to bind up their hurts and take up a musket" in this 
emergency. Very few failed to answer his appeal, and I saw 
many badly wounded men take off their hats and cheer him. 

He said to me, "This has been a sad day for us, colonel — a 
sad day ; but we can't expect always to gain victories." He 
M'as also kind enough to advise me to get into some more 
sheltered position. 

Notwithstanding the misfortune which had so suddenly be- 
fallen him. Gen. Lee seemed to observe every thing, however 
trivial. When a mounted officer began licking his horse for 
shying at the bursting of a shell, he called out, " Don't whip 
him, captain, don't whip him. I've got just such another fool- 
ish horse myself, and whipping does no good." 

I happened to see a man lying flat on his face in a small 
ditch,, and I remarked that I didn't think he seemed dead ; this 



APPENDIX. 355 

drew Gen. Lee's attention to the man, who commenced groan- 
ing dismally. Finding appeals to his patriotism of no avail, 
Gen. Lee had him ignominiously set on his legs by some neigh- 
boring gunners. 

I saw General Wilcox (an officer who wears a short round 
jacket and a battered straw hat) come up to him, and explain, 
almost crying, the state of his brigade. Gen. Lee immedi- 
ately shook hands with him and said, cheerfully, " Never mind, 
general, all this has been my fault — it is / that have lost this 
fight, and you must help me out of it in the best way you can." 

In this manner I saw Gen. Lee encourage and reanimate his 
somewhat dispirited troops, and magnanimously take upon his 
own shoulders the whole weight of the repulse. It was im- 
possible to look at him or to listen to him without feeling the 
strongest admiration, and I never saw any man fail him except 
the man in the ditch. 

It is difficult to exaggerate the critical state of affairs as they 
appeared about this time. If the enemy or their general had 
shown any enterprise, there is no saying what might have 
happened. Gen. Lee and his officers were evidently fully im- 
pressed with a sense of the situation ; yet there was much less 
noise, fuss, or confusion of orders than at an ordinary field-day ; 
the men, as they were rallied in the wood, were brought up in 
detachments and lay down quietly and coolly in the positions 
assigned to them. 

We heard that Generals Garnett and Armistead were killed, 
and Gen. Kemper mortally wounded ; also, that Pickett's 
division had only one field-officer unhurt. Nearly all this 
slaughter took place in an open space, about one mile square, 
and within one hour. 

At 6 p. M. we heard a long and continuous Yankee cheer which 
•we at first imagined was an indication of an advance, but it 
turned out to be their reception of a general officer, whom we 
saw riding down the line, followed by about thirty horsemen. 

Soon afterwards I rode to the extreme front, where there 
were four pieces of rifled cannon, almost without any infantry 
support. To the non-withdrawal of these guns is to be attrib- 
uted the otherwise surprising inactivity of the enemy. 

I was immediately surrounded by a sergeant and about half 
a dozen gunners, who seemed in excellent spirits and full of 



356 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

confidence, in spite of their exposed situation. The sergeant 
expressed his ardent hope that the Yankees might have spirit 
enough to advance and receive the dose he had in readiness 
for them. They spoke in admiration of the advance of Pick- 
ett's division, and of the manner in which Pickett himself had 
led it. When they observed Gen. Lee, they said, " We've not 
lost confidence in the old man : this day's work won't do him 
no harm. • Uncle Kobert' will get us into Washington yet ; 
you bet he will," &c. 

Whilst we were talking, the enemy's skirmishers began to ad- 
vance slowly, and several ominous sounds in quick succession 
told us that we were attracting their attention, and that it was 
necessary to break up the conclave. I therefore turned round 
and took leave of these cheery and plucky gunners. 

At T p. M. Gen. Lee received a report that Johnson's division 
of Ewell's corps had been successful on the left, and had gained 
important advantages there. Firing entirely ceased in our 
front about this time, but we now heard some brisk musketry 
on our right, which I afterwards learned proceeded from 
Hood's Texans, who had managed to surround some enter- 
prising Yankee cavalry, and were slaughtering them with 
great satisfaction. Only eighteen out of four hundred are said 
to have escaped. 

At 7.30 all idea of a Yankee attack being over, I rode back 
to Moses' tent, and found that worthy commissary in very low 
spirits, all sorts of exaggerated rumors having reached him. 
On ray way I met a great many wounded men, most anxious 
to inquire after Longstreet, who was reported killed ; when I 
assured them he was quite well, they seemed to forget their 
own pain, in the evident pleasure they felt in the safety of their 
chief. No words that I can use will adequately express the 
extraordinary patience and fortitude with which the wounded 
Confederates bore their sufferings. 

I got something to eat with the doctors at 10 p. m., the first 
for fifteen hours. 

I gave up my horse to-day to his owner, as from death and 
exhaustion the staff are almost without horses. 

July 4 {Saturday). — I was awoke at daylight by Moses com- 
plaining that his valuable trunk, containing much public 
money, had been stolen from our tent whilst we slept. After 



APPENDIX. 36T 

a search, it was found in a wood hard by, broken open and 
minus the money. Dr. Barksdale had been robbed in the same 
manner exactly. This is evidently the work of those rascally 
stragglers who shirk going under fire, plunder the natives, and 
will hereafter swagger as the heroes of Gettysburg. 

Lawley, the Austrian, and I, walked up to the front about 
eight o'clock, and on our way we met Gen. Longstreet, who 
was in a high state of amusement and good-humor. A flag of 
truce had just come over from the enemy, and its bearer an- 
nounced among other things that " Gen. Longstreet was 
wounded, and a prisoner, but would be taken care of." Gen. 
Longstreet sent back word that he was extremely grateful, but 
that, being neither wounded nor a prisoner, he was quite able 
to take care of himself. The iron endurance of Gen. Long- 
street is most extraordinary ; he seems to require neither food 
nor sleep. Some of his staff now fell fast asleep directly they 
got off their horses, they were so exhausted from the last three 
days' work. 

Whilst Lawley went to headquarters on business, I sat down 
and had a long talk with Gen. Pendleton (the parson), chief of 
artillery. He told me the exact number of guns in action yes- 
terday. He said that the universal opinion is in favor of the 
12-pounder Napoleon guns, as the best and simplest sort of 
ordnance for field purposes.* Nearly all the artillery with this 
army has either been captured from the enemy or cast from 
old 6-pounder8 taken at the early part of the war. 

At 10 A. M. Lawley returned from headquarters, bringing 
the news that the army is to commence moving in the direc- 
tion of "Virginia this evening ; this step is imperative from want 
of ammunition. But it was hoped that the enemy might at- 
tack during the day, especially as this is the 4th of July, and 
it was calculated that there was still ammunition for one day's 
fighting. The ordnance train had already commenced moving 
back towards Cashtowu, and Ewell's immense train of plunder 
had been proceeding towards Hagerstown by the Fairfield road 
ever since an early hour this morning. 

* The Napoleon 13-poimders are smooth-bore brass guns, with chambers, 
very light, and with long range. They were invented or recommended by 
Louis Napoleon, years ago. A large number are being cast at Augusta and 
elsewhere. 



THE SECOND TEAE OF THE WAll. 

Johnson's division had evacuated during the night the po- 
sition it had gained yesterday. It appears that for a time it 
was actually in possession of the cemetery, but had been forced 
to retire from thence from want of support by Pender's division, 
which had been retarded by that officer's wound. The whole 
of our left was therefore thrown back considerably. 

At 1 p. M. the rain began to descend in torrents, and we took 
refuge in the hovel of an ignorant Pennsylvanian boor. The 
cottage was full of soldiers, none of whom had the slightest 
idea of the contemplated retreat, and all were talking of Wash- 
ington and Baltimore with the greatest confidence. 

At 2 p. M. we walked to Gen. Longstreet's camp, which had 
been removed to a place three miles distant, on the Fairfield road. 

Gen. Longstreet talked to me for a long time about the bat- 
tle. He said the mistake they had made was in not concen- 
trating the army more, and making the attack yesterday with 
30,000 men instead of 15,000. The advance had been in three 
lines, and the troops of Hill's corps who gave way were young 
soldiers, who had never been under fire before. He thought 
the enemy would have attacked had the guns been withdrawn. 
Had they done so at that particular moment immediately after 
the repulse, it would have been awkward ^ but in that case he 
had given orders for the advance of Hood's division and 
M'Laws on the right. I think, after all, that Gen. Meade was 
right not to advance — his men would never have stood the tre- 
mendous fire of artillery they would have been exposed to. 

Rather over 7,000 Yankees were captured during the three 
days ; 3,500 took the parole ; the remainder were now being 
marched to Richmond, escorted by the remains of Pickett's 
division. 

It is impossible to avoid seeing that the cause of this check 
to the Confederates lies in the utter contempt felt for the 
enemy by all ranks. 

Wagons, horses, mules, and cattle captured in Pennsylvania, 
the solid advantages of this campaign, have been passing slow- 
ly along this road (Fairfield) all day ; those taken by Ewell 
are particularly admired. So interminable was this train that 
it soon became evident that we should not be able to start till 
late at night. As soon as it became dark we all lay round a 
big fire, and I heard reports coming in from the different gen- 



APPENDIX. 359 

erak that the enemy was retiring, and had been doing so all 
day long. M'Laws reported nothing in his front but cavalry 
videttes. 

But this, of course, could make no difference in Gen. Lee's 
plans ; ammunition he must have — he had failed to capture it 
from the enemy (according to precedent) ; and as his commu- 
nications with Virginia were intercepted, he was compelled to 
fall back towards Winchester, and draw his supplies from thence. 

G-en. Milroy had kindly left an ample stock at that town 
when he made his precipitate exit some weeks ago. The army 
was also encumbered with an enormous wagon train, the spoils 
of Pennsylvania, which it is highly desirable to get safely 
over the Potomac. 

Shortly after 9 p. m. the rain began to descend in torrents. 
Lawley and I luckily got into the doctors' covered buggy, and 
began to get slowly under weigh a little after midnight. 

July 5 {Sunday). — The night was very bad — thunder and 
lightning, torrents of rain — the road knee-deep in mud and 
water, and often blocked up with wagons " come to grief." I 
pitied the wretched plight of the unfortunate soldiers who were 
to follow us. 

Our progress was naturally very slow indeed, and we took 
eight hours to go as many miles. 

At 8 A. M. we halted a little beyond the village of Fairfield, 
near the entrance to a mountain-pass. No sooner had we done 
80 and lit a fire, than an alarm was spread that Yankee cavalry 
were upon us. Several shots flew over our heads, but we 
never could discover from whence they came. News also ar- 
rived of the capture of the whole of Ewell's beautiful wagons.* 
These reports created a regular stampede amongst the wagon- 
ers, and Longstreet's drivers started off as fast as they could go. 

Our medical trio, however, firmly declined to budge, and 
came to this wise conclusion, partly urged by the pangs of 
hunger, and partly from the consideration that, if the Yankee 
■cavalry did come, the crowded state of the road in our rear 
would prevent our escape. Soon afterwards, some Confederate 
<;avalry were pushed to the front, who cleared the pass after a 
slight skirmish. 

* It afterwards turned out that all escaped but thirty-eight. 



I 

360 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAE. . 

At noon Generals Lee and Longstreet arrived, and halted 
close to us. Soon afterwards Ewell came up. This is the first 
time I ever saw him. He is rather a remarkable looking old 
soldier, with a bald head, a prominent nose, and rather a hag- 
gard, sickly face ; having so lately lost his leg above the knee, 
he is still a complete cripple, and falls ofi" his horse occa- 
sionally. Directly he dismounts he has to be put on crutches. 
He was Stonewall Jackson's coadjutor during the celebrated 
Valley campaigns, and he used to be a great swearer — in fact, 
he is said to have been the only person who was unable to re- 
strain that propensity before Jackson ; but since his late 
(rather romantic) marriage, he has (to use the American ex- 
pression) ^'■joined the Church.^' When I saw him he was in a 
great state of disgust in consequence of the supposed loss of his 
wagons, and refused to be comforted by Gen. Lee. 

I joined Longstreet again, and, mounted on Lawley's vener- 
able horse, started at 3 p. m. to ride through the pass. At 4 p. m. 
we stopped at a place where the roads fork, one leading to 
Emmetsburg, and the other to Hagerstown. 

Major Moses and I entered a farm-house, in which we found 
several "women, two wounded Yankees, and one dead one, the 
result of this morning's skirmish. One of the suflTerers was 
frightfully wounded in the head ; the other was hit in the 
knee ; the latter told me he was an Irishman, and had served 
in the Bengal Europeans during the Indian mutiny. He now 
belonged to a Michigan cavalry regiment, and had already im- 
bibed American ideas of Ireland's wrongs, and all that sort of 
trash. He told me that his officers were very bad, and that 
the idea in the array was that McClellan had assumed the chief 
command. 

The women in this house were great Abolitionists. When 
Major Fairfax rode up, he inquired of one of them whether the 
corpse was that of a Confederate or Yankee (the body was in 
the verandah, covered with a white sheet). The woman made 
a gesture with her foot, and replied, " If it was a rebel, do you 
think it would be here long ?" Fairfax then said, " Is it a 
woman who speaks in such a manner of a dead body which 
can do no one any harm ?" She thereupon colored up, and 
said she wasn't in earnest. 

At six o'clock we rode on again (by the Hagerstown road) 



APPENDIX. 361 

and came up with Gen. Longstreet at 7.30. The road was full 
of soldiers marching in a particularly lively manner — the wet 
and mud seemed to have produced no effect whatever on their 
spirits, which were as boisterous as ever. They had got hold 
of colored prints of Mr. Lincoln, which they were passing 
about from company to company, with many remarks upon 
the personal beauty of Uncle Abe. The same old chaff was 
going on of " Come out of that hat — I know you're in it — I 
sees your legs a dangling down," &c. When we halted for 
the night, skirmishing was going on in front and rear — Stuart 
in front and Ewell in rear. Our bivouac being near a large 
tavern, Gen. Longstreet had ordered some supper there for 
himself and his staff; but when we went to devour it, we dis- 
covered Gen. M'Laws and his officers rapidly finishing it. We, 
however, soon got more, the Pennsylvanian proprietors being 
particularly anxious to propitiate the general, in hopes that 
he would spare their live-stock, which had been condemned to 
death by the ruthless Moses. 

During supper women came rushing in at intervals, saying 
— " Oh, good heavens, now they're killing our fat hogs. 
Which is the general ? which is the great officer ? Our milch 
cows are now going." To all which expressions Longstreet re- 
plied, shaking his head in a melancholy manner — "Yes, 
madam, it's very sad — very sad ; and this sort of thing has 
been going on in Virginia more than two years — very sad." 

We all slept in the open air, and the heavy rain produced 
no effect upon our slumbers. 

I understand it is impossible to cross the lines by flag of 
truce. I therefore find myself in a dilemma about the expira- 
tion of my leave. 

July 6 {Monday). — Several horses were stolen last night, 
mine nearly so. It is necessary to be very careful in order to 
prevent this misfortune. 

We started at 6.30, but got on very slowly, so blocked up 
was the road with wagons, some of which had been captured 
and burnt by the enemy yesterday. It now turned out that 
all Swell's wagons escaped except thirty-eight, although at one 
time they had been all in the enemy's hands. 

At 8.30 we halted for a couple of hours, and Generals Lee, 
Longstreet, Hill, and Wilcox had a consultation. I spoke to 



362 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAE. 

> 

about my difficulties witli regard to getting home, and 



the necessity of doing so, owing to the approaching expiration 
of my leave. He told me that the army had no intention at 
present of retreating for good, and advised me to stop with 
them and see what turned up ; he also said that some of the 
enemy's dispatches had been intercepted, in which the follow- 
ing words occur : — " The noble but unfortunate army of the 
Potomac has again been obliged to retreat before superior 
numbers." 

I particularly observed the marching to-day of the 21st Mis- 
sissippi, which was uncommonly good. This regiment all 
wear short round jackets, a most unusual circumstance, for 
they are generally unpopular in the South. 

At twelve o'clock we halted again, and all set to work to 
eat cherries, which was the only food we got between 5 a. m. 
and 11 p. M. 

I saw a most laughable spectacle this afternoon — viz., a 
negro dressed in full Yankee uniform, with a rifle at full coek, 
leading along a barefooted white man, with whom he had evi- 
dently changed clothes. Gen. Longstreet stopped the pair, 
and asked the black man what he meant. He replied, " The 
two soldiers in charge of this here Yank have got drunk, so 
for fear he should escape I have took care of him." The con- 
sequential manner of the negro, and the supreme contempt 
with which he spoke to his prisoner were most amusing, 

I saw Gen. Hood in his carriage ; he looked rather bad, and 
has been suffering a good deal ; the doctors seem to doubt 
whether they will be able to save his arm. I also saw Gen. 
Hampton, of the cavalry, who has been shot in the hip, and has 
two sabre-cuts on the head, but he was in very good spirits. 

A short time before we reached Hagerstown there was some 
firing in front, together with an alarm that the Yankee cavalry 
was upon us. The ambulances were sent back ; but some of 
the wounded jumped out, and, producing the rifles which they 
had not parted with, they prepared to fight. After a good 
deal of desultory skirmishing, we seated ourselves upon a hill 
overlooking Hagerstown, and saw the enemy's cavalry driven 
through the town, pursued by yelling Confederates. 

A good many Yankee prisoners now passed us ; one of them, 
who was smoking a cigar, was a lieutenant of cavalry, dressed 



APPENDIX. 

very smartly, and his hair brushed with the greatest care ; he 
formed rather a contrast to his ragged escort, and to ourselves, 
who had not washed or shaved for ever so long. 

About 7 p. M. we rode through Hagerstown, in the streets of 
which were several dead horses and a few dead men. After 
proceeding about a mile beyond the town we halted, and Gen. 
Longstreet sent four cavalrymen up a lane, with directions to 
report every thing they saw. "We then dismounted and lay 
down. About ten minutes later (being nearly dark) we heard 
a sudden rush — a panic — and then a regular stampede com- 
menced, in the midst of which I descried our four cavalry he- 
roes crossing a field as fast as they could gallop. All was now 
complete confusion ; officers mounting their horses and pur- 
suing those which had got loose, and soldiers climbing over 
fences for protection against the supposed advancing Yankees. 
In the middle of the din I heard an artillery ofiicer shouting to 
his " cannoneers " to stand by him, and plant the guns in a 
proper position for enfilading the lane. I also distinguished 
Longstreet walking about, hustled by the excited crowd, and 
remarking, in angry tones, which could scarcely be heard, and 
to which no attention was paid, " Now, you don't know what 
it is — you don't know what it is." Whilst the row and con- 
fusion were at their height, the object of all this alarm at 
length emerged from the dark lane in the shape of a domestic 
four-wheel carriage, with a harmless load of females. The 
stampede had, however, spread, increased in the rear, and 
caused much harm and delay. 

Cavalry skirmishing went on until quite dark, a determined 
attack having been made by the enemy, who did his best to 
prevent the trains from crossing the Potomac at Williamsport. 
It resulted in the success of the Confederates ; but every im- 
partial man confesses that these cavalry fights are miserable 
affairs. Neither party has any idea of serious charging with 
the sabre. They approach one another with considerable bold- 
ness, until they get to within about forty yards, and then, at 
the very moment when a dash is necessary, and the sword alone 
should be used, they hesitate, halt, and commence a desultory 
fire with carbines and revolvers. 

An Englishman, named Winthrop, a captain in the Confed- 
erate army, and formerly an officer in H. M.'s 22d regiment, 



364: THE SECOND TEAE OF THE WAR. 

although not in the cavalry himself, seized the colors of one of 
the regiments, and rode straight at the Yankees in the most gal- 
lant manner, shouting to the men to follow him. He continued 
to distinguish himself by leading charges until his horse was un- 
fortunately killed. I heard his conduct on this occasion highly 
spoken of by all. Stuart's cavalry can hardly be called cavalry 
in the European sense of the word ; but, on the other hand, the 
country in which they are accustomed to operate is not adapted 
for cavalry. 

was forced at last to give up wearing even his Austrian 

forage cap ; for the last two days soldiers on the line of march 
had been visiting his ambulance in great numbers, under the 
impression (encouraged by the driver) that he was a Yankee 
general. The idea now was that the army would renaain some 
days in or near its present position until the arrival of the am- 
munition from Winchester. 

July 7 {Tuesday). — Lawley, the Austrian, and I drove into 
Hagerstown this morning, and Gen. Longstreet moved into a 
new position on the Williamsport road, which he was to oc- 
cupy for the present. 

We got an excellent room in the Washington hotel on pro- 
ducing greenbacks. Public opinion in Hagerstown seems to be 
pretty evenly divided between North and South, and probably 
accommodates itself to circumstances. For instance, yesterday 
the women waved their handkerchiefs when the Yankee cavalry 
were driven through the town, and to-day they went through 
the same compliment in honor of 3,500 Yankee (Gettysburg) 
prisoners whom I saw marched through en route for Richmond. 

I overheard the conversation of some Confederate soldiers 
about these prisoners. One remarked, with respect to the 
Zouaves, of whom there were a few — " Those red-breeched fel- 
lows look as if they could fight, but they don't, though ; no, not 
so well as the blue-bellies." 

Lawley introduced me to Gen. Stuart in the streets of Ha- 
gerstown to-day. He is commonly called Jeb Stuart, on ac- 
count of his initials ; he is'a good-looking, jovial character, ex- 
actly like his photographs. He has certainly accomplished 
wonders, and done excellent service in his peculiar style of 
warfare. He is a good and gallant soldier, though he some- 
times incurs ridicule by his harmless affectation and peculiar- 



APPENDIX. 365 

ities. The other day he rode through a Yirginian town, his 
horse covered with garlands of roses. He also departs consid- 
erably from the severe simplicity of dress adopted by other 
Confederate generals ; but no one can deny that he is the right 
man in the right place. On a campaign he seems to roam over 
the country according to his own discretion, and always gives 
a good account of himself, turning up at the right moment ; 
and hitherto he has never got himself into any serious trouble. 

I rode to Gen. Longstreet's camp, which is about two miles 
in the direction of Williamsport, and consulted him about my 
difficulties with regard to my leave. He was most good- 
natured about it, and advised me under the circumstances to 
drive in the direction of Hancock ; and, in the event of being 
ill-treated on my way, to insist upon being taken before the 
nearest U. S. officer of the highest rank, who would probably 
protect me. I determined to take his advice at once ; so I took 
leave of him and of his officers. Longstreet is generally a very 
taciturn and undemonstrative man, but he was quite affection- 
ate in his farewell. His last words were a hearty hope for the 
speedy termination of the war. All his officers were equally 
kind in their expressions on my taking leave, though the last 
sentence uttered by Latrobe was not entirely reassuring — viz., 
" You may take your oath he'll be caught for a spy." 

I then rode to Gen. Lee's camp, and asked him for a pass to 
get through his lines. "We had a long talk together, and he 
told me of the raid made by the enemy, for the express purpose 
of arresting his badly wounded son (a Confederate brigadier- 
general), who was lying in the house of a relation in Yirginia. 
They insisted upon carrying him off in a litter, though he had 
never been out of bed, and had quite recently been shot through 
the thigh. This seizure was evidently made for purposes of 
retaliation. His life has since been threatened, in the event of 
the South retaliating for Burnside's alleged military murders in 
Kentucky. But few officers, however, speak of the Northerners 
with so much moderation as Gen. Lee ; his extreme amiability 
seems to prevent his speaking strongly against any one. I really 
felt quite sorry when I said good-by to so many gentlemen 
from whom I had received so much disinterested kindness. 

I am now about to leave the Southern States, after travelling 
quite alone throughout their entire length and breadth, includ- 



366 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

ing Texas and the trans-Mississippi country, for nearly three 
months and a half, during which time I have been thrown 
amongst all classes of the population — the highest, the lowest, 
and the most lawless. Although many were very sore about 
the conduct of England, I never received an uncivil word from 
anybody, but on the contrary, I have been treated by all with 
more than kindness.* I have never met a man who was not 
anxious for a termination of the war ; and I have never met a 
man, woman, or child who contemplated its termination as 
possible without an entire separation from the now detested 
Yankee. I have never been asked for alms or a gratuity by 
any man or woman, black or white. Every one knew who I 
was, and all spoke to me with the greatest confidence. I have 
rarely heard any person complain of the almost total ruin 
■v^fhich has befallen so many. All are prepared to undergo still 
greater sacrifices, — they contetnplate and prepare to receive 
great reverses which it is impossible to avert. They look to a 
successful termination of the war as certain, although few are 
sanguine enough to fix a speedy date for it, and nearly all bar- 
gain for its lasting at least all Lincoln's presidency. I have 
lived in bivouacs with all the Southern armies, which are as 
distinct from one another as the British is from the Austrian, 
and I have never once seen an instance of insubordination. 

When I got back to Hagerstown, I endeavored to make ar- 
rangements for a horse and buggy to drive through the lines. 

With immense difficulty I secured the services of a Mr. , 

to take me to Hancock, and as much further as I chose to go, 
for a dollar a mile (greenbacks). I engaged also to pay him 
the value of his horse and buggy, in case they should be con- 
fiscated by either side. He was evidently extremely alarmed, 
and I was obliged to keep him up to the mark by assurances 
that his horse would inevitably be seized by the Confederates, 
unless protected by General Lee's pass in my possession. 

* Tbe only occasion on wliich I was roughly handled was when I had the 
misfortune to enter the city of Jackson, Mississippi, just as the Federals evacu 
ated it. I was alone, on foot, and unknown to any one, and was seized by the 
citizens, who, exasperated by the wanton destruction of their property by 
Grant's army, were anxious to hang me as a spy. On my identity being clearly 
established, I was treated with every consideration, and sent up to Johnston's 
army immediately. I do not complain of this aOair, which, under the circum- 
stances, was not to be wondered at. 



APPENDIX. 367 

July 8 ( Wednesday). — My conductor told me lie couldn't go 
to-day on account of a funeral, but he promised faithfully to 
start to-morrow. Every one was full of forebodings as to my 
probable fate when I fell into Yankee clutches. In deference 
to their advice I took off my gray shooting-jacket, in which 
they said I was sure to be taken for a rebel, and I put on a 
black coat ; but I scouted all well-meant advice as to endeav- 
oring to disguise myself as an "American citizen," or conceal 
the exact truth in any way. I was aware that a great deal de- 
pended upon falling into the hands of a gentleman, and I did 
not believe these were so rare in the Northern army as the 
Confederates led me to suppose. 

July 9 {Thursday). — I left Hagerstown at 8 a. m., in ray con- 
ductor's good buggy, after saying farewell to Lawley, the Aus- 
trian, and the numerous Confederate officers who came to see 
me off, and wish me good-luck. 

We passed the Confederate advanced post at about two miles 
from Hagerstown, and were allowed to pass on the production 
of General Lee's authority. I was now fairly launched beyond 
the Confederate lines for the first time since I had been in 
America. 

Immediately afterwards we began to be asked all sorts of 
inquisitive questions about the rebels, which I left to my driver 
to answer. It became perfectly evident that this narrow strip 
of Maryland is entirely Unionist. 

At about 12 o'clock we reached the top of a high hill, and 
halted to bait our horse at an inn called Fairview. 

No sooner had we descended from the buggy than about 
twenty rampageous Unionists appeared, who told us they had 
come up to get a good view of the big tight in which the G — d 
(J — d rebels were to be all captured, or drowned in the Po- 
tomac. 

My appearance evidently did not please them from the very 
first. With alarm I observed them talking to one another, and 
pointing at me. At length a particularly truculent-looking in- 
dividual, with an enormous mustache, approached me, and, 
fixing his eyes long and steadfastly upon my trousers, he re- 
marked in the surliest possible tones, " Them hreeches is a d—d 
had col(yr:'' This he said in allusion, not to their dirty state, 
but to the fact of their being gray, the rebel color. I replied 



368 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

to this very disagreeable assertion in as conciliating a way as I 
possibly could ; and in answer to his question as to who I was, 
I said that I was an English traveller. He then said that his 
wife was an English lady from Preston. I next expressed my 
pride in being a countryman of his wife's. He then told me 
in tones that admitted of no contradiction, that Preston was 
just forty-five miles east of London ; and he afterwards launch- 
ed into torrents of invectives against the rebels, who had run 
him out of Virginia ; and he stated his intention of killing them 
in great numbers to gratify his taste. With some difficulty I 
prevailed upon him and his rabid brethren to drink, which 
pacified them slightly for a time ; but when the horse was 
brought out to be harnessed, it became evident I was not to be 
allowed to proceed without a row. I therefore addressed the 
crowd, and asked them quietly who among them wished to 
detain me ; and I told them, at the same time, that I would 
not answer any questions put by those who were not persons 
in authority, but that I should be most happy to explain myself 
to any officer of the United States army. At length they al- 
lowed me to proceed, on the understanding that my buggy- 
driver should hand me over to General Kelly, at Hancock. 
The driver w;as provided with a letter for the general, in which 
I afterwards discovered that I was denounced as a spy, and 
" handed over to the general to he dealt with as justice to our 
cause demands.''^ We were then allowed to start, the driver 
being threatened with condign vengeance if he let me escape. 

After we had proceeded about six miles, we fell in with 
some Yankee cavalry, by whom we were immediately cap- 
tured, and the responsibility of my custody was thus removed 
from my conductor's shoulders. 

A cavalry soldier was put in charge of us, and we passed 
through the numerous Yankee outposts under the title of 
^^ Prisoners^ 

The hills near Hancock were white with Yankee tents, and 
there were, I believe, from 8,000 to 10,000 Federals there. I 
did not think much of the appearance of the Northern troops ; 
they are certainly dressed in proper uniform, but their clothes 
are badly fitted, and they are often round-shouldered, dirty, 
and slovenly in appearance ; in fact, bad imitations of soldiers. 
Now, the Confederate has no ambition to imitate the regular 



APPENDIX. 369 

soldier at all; he looks the genuine rebel; but in spite of his 
bare feet, his ragged clothes, his old rug, and tooth-brush stuck 
like a rose in his button-hole,* he has a sort of devil-may-care, 
reckless, self-confident look, which is decidedly taking. 

At 5 p. M. we drove up in front of the door of Gen, Kelly's 
quarters, and, to my immense relief, I soon discovered that he 
was a gentleman. I then explained to him the whole truth, 
concealing nothing. I said I was a British officer, on leave of 
absence, travelling for my own instruction ; that I had been all 
the way to Mexico, and entered the Southern States by the Rio 
Grande, for the express purpose of not breaking any legally 
established blockade. I told him I had visited all the Southern 
armies in Mississippi, Tennessee, Charleston, and Yirginia, and 
seen the late campaign as Gen. Longstreet's guest, but had in 
no way entered the Confederate service. I also gave him my 
word that I had not got in my possession any letters, either 
public or private, from any person in the South to any person 
anywhere else. I showed him my British passport and Gen. 
Lee's pass as a British officer ; and I explained that my only 
object in coming north was to return to England in time for 
the expiration of my leave ; and I ended by expressing a hope 
that he would make my detention as short as possible. 

After considering a short time, he said that he would cer- 
tainly allow me to go on, but that he could not allow my driver 
to go back. I felt immensely relieved at the decision, but the 
countenance of my companion lengthened considerably. It 
was, however, settled that he should take me on to Cumber- 
land, and Gen. Kelly good-naturedly promised to do what he 
could for him on his return. 

Gen. Kelly then asked me in an off-hand manner whether all 
Gen. Lee's army was at Hagerstown ; but I replied, laughing, 
" You of course understand, general, that, having got that pass 
from Gen. Lee, I am bound by every principle of honor not to 
give you any information which can be of advantage to you." 
He laughed, and promised not to ask me any more questions 
of that sort. He then sent his aid-de-camp with me to the 
provost-marshal, who immediately gave me a pass for Cum- 



* This tooth-brush in the button-hole is a very common custom, and has 
a most quaint effect. 



24 



370 THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

berland. On my return to the general's, I discovered the per- 
fidious driver (that zealous Southern of a few hours previous) 
hard at work communicating to Gen. Kelly all he knew, and a 
great deal more besides ; but, from what I heard, I don't think 
his information was very valuable. 

I was treated by Gen. Kelly and all his officers with the 
greatest good-nature and courtesy, although I had certainly 
come among them under circumstances suspicious, to say 
the least. I felt quite sorry that they should be opposed to my 
Southern friends, and I regretted still more that they should be 
obliged to serve with or under a Butler, a Milroy, or even a 
Hooker. I took leave of them at six o'clock, and I can truly 
say that the only Federal officers I have ever come in contact 
with were gentlemen. 

We had got four miles beyond Hancock, when the tire of 
one of our wheels came off, and we had to stop for a night at 
a farm-house. I had supper with the farmer and his laborers, 
who had just come in from the fields, and the supper was much 
superior to that which can be procured at the first hotel at 
Richmond. All were violent Unionists, and perfectly under 
the impression that the rebels were totally demoralized, and 
about to lay down their arms. Of course I held my tongue, 
and gave no one reason to suppose I had ever been in rebeldom. 

July 10 {Friday). — The drive from Hancock to Cumber- 
land is a very mountainous forty-four miles — total distance 
from Hagerstown, sixty-six miles. We met with no further 
adventure on the road, although the people were very inquisi- 
tive, but I never opened my mouth. 

One woman in particular, who kept a toll-bar, thrust her 
ugly old head out of an upper window, and yelled out, " Air 
they a-fixin' for another battle out there?" jerking her head in 
the direction of Hagerstown. The driver replied that although 
the bunch of rebels there was pretty big, yet he could not an- 
swer for their fixing arrangements; which he afterwards ex- 
plained to me meant digging fortifications. 

We arrived at Cumberland at 7 p. m. This is a great coal 
place, and a few weeks ago it was touched up by " Imboden," 
who burnt a lot of coal barges, which has rendered the people 
rabid against the rebs. 

I started by stage for Johnstown at 8.30 p. m. 



APPENDIX. 3T1 

July 11 {Saturday). — I hope I may never for my sins he 
again condemned to travel for thirty hours in an American 
stage on a used-up plank road. "We changed carriages at 
Somerset. All my fellow-travellers were of course violent 
Unionists, and invariably spoke of my late friends as rebels or 
rebs. They had all got it into their heads that their Potomac 
army, not having been thoroughly thrashed as it always has 
been hitherto, had achieved a tremendous victory ; and that its 
new chief, Gen. Meade, who in reality was driven into a strong 
position, which he had sense enough to stick to, is a wonderful 
strategist. They all hope that the remnants of Lee's army will 
not be allowed to escape over the Potomac ; whereas, when I left 
the army two days ago, no man in it had a thought of escaping 
over the Potomac, and certainly Gen. Meade was not in a po- 
sition to attempt to prevent the passage, if crossing had become 
necessary. 

I reached Johnstown, on the Pennsylvania railway, at 6 p. m., 
and found that town in a great state of excitement, in conse- 
quence of the review of two militia companies, who were re- 
ceiving garlands from the fair ladies of Johnstown, in grati- 
tude for their daring conduct in turning out to resist Lee's 
invasion. Most of the men seemed to be respectable mechanics, 
not at all adapted for an early interview with the rebels. The 
garlands supplied were as big, and apparently as substantial, as 
a ship's life-buoys, and the recipients looked particularly help- 
less after they had got them. Heaven help those Pennsylvauian 
braves if a score of Hood's Texans had caught sight of them ! 

Left Johnstown by train at 7.30 p. m., and, by paying half a 
dollar, I secured a berth in a sleeping-car — a most admirable 
and ingenious Yankee notion. 

July 1'2 {Sunday). — The Pittsburg and Philadelphia Kail- 
way is, I believe, accounted one of the best in America, which 
did not prevent my spending eight hours last night off the 
line ; but, being asleep at the time, I was unaware of the 
circumstance. Instead of arriving at Philadelphia at 6 a. m., 
we did not get there till 3 p. m. Passed Harrisburg at 9 a. m. 
It was full of Yankee soldiers, and has evidently not recovered 
from the excitement consequent upon the late invasion, one 
effect of which has been to prevent the cutting of the crops by 
the calling out of the militia. 



372 THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAE. 

At Philadelphia I saw a train containing 150 Confederate 
prisoners, who were being stared at by a large number of the 
heau monde of Philadelphia. I mingled with the crowd which 
was chaffing them ; most of the people were good-natured, but 
I heard one suggestion to the effect that they should be taken 
to the river, " and every mother's son of them drowned there." 

I arrived at New York at 10 p. m., and drove to the Fifth 
Avenue hotel. 

July 13 {Monday). — The luxury and comfort of ]S"ew York 
and Philadelphia strikes one as extraordinary, after having 
lately come from Charleston and Richmond. The greenbacks 
seem to be nearly as good as gold. The streets are as full as 
possible of well-dressed people, and are crowded with able- 
bodied civilians capable of bearing arms, who have evidently 
no intention of doing so. They apparently don't feel the war 
at all here ; and until there is a. grand smash with their money, 
or some other catastrophe to make them feel it, I can easily 
imagine that they will not be anxious to make peace, 

I walked the whole distance of Broadway to the consul's 
house, and nothing could exceed the apparent prosperity ; the 
street was covered with banners and placards inviting people 
to enlist in various high-sounding regiments. Bounties of $550 
were offered, and huge pictures hung across the street, on 
which numbers of ragged grayhacks^^ terror depicted on their 
features, were being pursued by the Federals. 

On returning to the Fifth avenue, 1 found all the shopkeep- 
ers beginning to close their stores, and I perceived by degrees 
that there was great alarm about the resistance to the draft, 
which was going on this morning. On reaching the hotel, I 
perceived a whole block of buildings on fire close by : engines 
were present, but were not allowed to play by the crowd. In 
the hotel itself universal consternation prevailed, and an attack 
by the mob had been threatened. I walked about in the 
neigliborhood, and saw a company of soldiers on the march, 
who were being jeered at and hooted by small boys ; and I saw 
a negro, pursued by the crowd, take refuge with the military ; 
he was followed by loud cries of "Down with the b y 



* The Northerns call the Southerns " Graybacks," just as the latter call the 
former "BluebeUies," on account of the color of their dress. 



APPENDIX. 373 

nigger !" " Kill all niggers," &c. Never having been in New 
York before, and being totally ignorant of the state of feelino- 
with regard to negroes, I inqnired of a bystander what the 
negroes had done, that they should want to kill them ? He 
replied, civilly enough, " Oh, sir, they hate them here ; they 
are the innocent cause of all these troubles." Shortly after- 
wards, I saw a troop of citizen cavalry come up ; the troopers 
were very gorgeously attired, but evidently experienced so 
much difficulty in sitting their horses, that they were more 
likely to excite laughter than any other emotion. 

July 14 (Tuesday). — At breakfast this morning two Irish 
waiters, seeing I was a Britisher, came up to me, one after the 
other, and whispered at intervals, in hoarse Hibernian accents, 
" It's disgraceful, sir. I've been drafted, sir, I'm a Briton. I 
love my country. I love the Union Jack, sir." I suggested 
an interview with Mr. Archibald, but neither of them seemed 
to care about going to the "counsel" just yet. These rascals 
have probably been hard at work for years, voting as free and 
enlightened American citizens, and abusing England to their 
hearts' content. 

I heard every one talking of the total demoralization of the 
Rebels as a certain fact, and all seemed to anticipate their ap- 
proaching destruction. All this sounded very absurd to me, 
who had left Lee's army four days previously as full of fight as 
ever — much stronger in numbers, and ten times more efficient, 
in every military point of view, than it was when it crossed the 
Potomac to invade Maryland a year ago. In its own opinion, 
Lee's army has not lost any of its prestige at the battle of Get- 
tysburg, in which it most gallantly stormed strong intrench- 
ments, defended by the whole army of the Potomac, which 
never ventured outside its works, or approached in force within 
half a mile of the Confederate artillery. 

The result of the battle of Gettysburg, together with the fall 
of Yicksburg and Port Hudson, seems to have turned every- 
body's head completely, and has deluded them with the idea 
of the speedy and complete subjugation of the South. I was 
filled with astonishment to hear people speaking in this confi- 
dent manner, when one of their most prosperous States had 
been so recently laid under contribution as far as Harrisburg 
and Washington, their capital itself having just been saved by 



374 THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

a fortunate turn of luck. Four-fifths of the Pennsylvanjan 
spoil had safely crossed the Potomac before I left Hagerstown. 

The consternation in the streets seemed to be on the in- 
crease ; fires were going on in all directions, and the streets 
were being patrolled by large bodies of police, followed by 
special constables — the latter bearing truncheons, but not look- 
ing very happy. 

I heard a British captain making a deposition before the 
consul, to the effect that the mob had got on board his vessel 
and cruelly beaten his colored crew. As no British man-of- 
war was present, the French admiral was appealed to, who at 
once requested that all British ships with colored crews might 
be anchored under the guns of his frigate. 

The reports of outrages, hangings, and murder, were now 
most alarming, and terror and anxiety were universal. All 
shops were shut ; all carriages and omnibuses had ceased run- 
ning. No colored man or woman was visible or safe in the 
streets, or even in his own dwelling. Telegraphs were cut, 
and railroad tracks torn up. The draft was suspended, and the 
mob evidently had the upper hand. 

The people who can't pay $300, naturally hate being forced 
to fight in order to liberate the very race who they are 
most anxious should be slaves. It is their direct interest not 
only that all slaves should remain slaves, but that the free 
ISTorthern negroes who compete with them for labor should be 
sent South also. 

July 15 ( Wednesday). — The hotel this morning was occupied 
by military, or rather by creatures in uniform. One of the 
sentries stopped me ; and on my remonstrating to his oflicer, 
the latter blew up the sentry, and said, " You are only to stop 
persons in military dress — don't you know what military dress 
is ?" " No," responded this efiicient sentry — and I left the pair 
discussing the definition of a soldier. I had the greatest diffi- 
culty in getting a conveyance down to the water. I saw a 
stene barricade in the distance, and heard firing going on — and 
was not at all sorry to find myself on board the China. 



Chronology of the Second Year of the War. 



1863. 

April 16. — The Confederate Congress passes the Conscription Act. 

" 18. — Fredericksburg, Va., occupied by U. S. troops. 

" " — Forts St. Philip and Jackson attacked by the U. S. Fleet, 
under Farragut. 

" 19.— Battle of South Mills or Camden, N. C. 

" 21. — Santa Fe, N. M., evacuated by Confederate forces. 

" 22. — Action at Lee's Mills, near Yorktown. 

" 24. — The Confederate fleet defeated by Farragut with the 
loss of thirteen gunboats and three transports. 

" 25. — Farragut demands surrender of New Orleans. 

" *' — Surrender of Fort Macon to Gen. Parkes. 

" 28. — Sui-render of Forts St. Philip and Jackson, and evacua- 
tion of New Orleans by Gen. Lovell. 

" 29. — Bridgeport, Ala., taken by Gen. Mitchell. 
May 3-4. — Yorktown evacuated by the Confederate forces, and oc- 
cupied by Gen. McClellan, 

" 5. — Battle of Williamsburg, Va., between the Confederates 
under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, and Gen. McClellan. 
Federal loss 3,000. 

" 7. — Attempt of Federal troops to land at Barharasville, near 
West Point, Va. 

« 8.— Battle of McDowell, Va. Confederate loss, 350 killed 
and wounded. 

" 10. — Norfolk, Va., occupied by Gen. Wool. 

" 11. — The Virginia (formerly Merrimac) destroyed by order 
of Commodore Tatnall. 

" 12.— Pensacola, Florida, and Natchez, Miss., occupied -by 
Federals. 

" 15. — The Federal Iron-clads repulsed in an attack on Drewry's 
Bluff, James river, Va. 

" 16. — Conscription Act went into force. ^ 

" 18. — McClellan reaches the Chickahominy. 



376 CHRONOLOGY OF THK SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

May 23. — Gen. Jackson surprises the Federal Colonel Kenly, at 
Front Royal, and takes 1,400 prisoners. 

" " — Col. Crook attacked at Levvisburg, Va., by Gen. Heath. 

" " — Gen. McClellan takes up his position on the Chickahom- 
iny. 

" 25. — Gen. Jackson attacks Winchester, and drives the Fed- 
eral Gen. Banks into Maryland, with the loss of 4,000 
prisoners, and millions of dollars of stores. 

" 29. — Battle of Hanover Court-house — Confederate forces 
defeated by Gen. Fitz-John Porter. 

" 30. — Corinth, Miss., evacuated by Gen. Beauregard. 

" 31. — Battle of the Seven Pines. McClellan's van, under Gens. 
Casey and Couch, routed by the Confederates under 
Johnston. 
June 1. — Battle of Fair Oaks. Gen. Johnston wounded, and 
ground lost. 

t( «c — rpj^g Federals, under Gen. Benham, land on James Island. 

" 5. — Fort Wright evacuated by the Confederates. 

" 6. — Confederate fleet off Memphis defeated, and almost en- 
tirely destroyed. Memphis taken. 

" " — Col. Turner Ashby killed near Harrisburg, Ya. 

" V. — William B. Mumford hung at New Orleans, for taking 
down and destroying the United States flag, hoisted 
over the Mint. 

" 8-9. — Battle of Port Republic or Cross Keys between Gen. 
Fremont and Gen. Ewell, and between Gen. Shields 
and Gen. Jackson, in which Jackson was signally vic- 
torious. 

" 13. Confederate battery at St. Charles, White river, Ark., 
captured, but not till it had destroyed the Federal 
gunboat Mound City. 

" 14. — Confederate Cavalry raid to the Pamunkey, near the 
White House. 

" " — Severe battle on James Island : the Federals under Gens. 
Benham and Stevens attacking the Confederate works, 
repulsed with heavy loss by part of Gen. Pemberton's 
troops under Col. Lamar. 

" 23. — Gen, McClellan began his movements for a change of 
base, the gunboats having ascended James river. 

" 24. — The Federals abandon the siege of Vicksburg, Miss., 
after throwing 25,000 shell, and killing and wounding 
22 soldiers, 1 negro, and 1 woman. 



CHKONOLOGY OF THE SECOND TEAK OF THE "WAR. 3'77 



The Seven Days' Fight. 

June 25. — Battle of Oak Grove, Va., fought by Gen. Hooker to 

cover Gen. McClellan's movements. 
« « — The armies of Gens. Banks, Fremont, and McDowell 

united under Gen. Pope. 
" 26. — The Confederate forces under Gen. Hill attack Gen. Fitz- 

John Porter at Mechanicsville. Loss heavy on both 

sides. Porter falls back at night. 
" 27.— Battle of Gaines' Mill: Porter • defeated by the Hills 

and Longstreet, and driven with heavy loss across 

the Chickahominy. 
" 29. — Battle of Peach Orchard : the Federals attacked by the 

Confederates near Fair Oaks. 
" " — Battle of Savage's Station : the Federals again attacked 

and severely handled. General Griffiths killed. 
" 30. — Battle of Frayser's Farm. The Federals defeated by the 

Hills and Longstreet. 
Jv-ly 1. — Battle of Malvern Hill. Federals hold their position 

against all attack. Federal loss in seven days 15,244. 

" 4-28. — Successful raid by Gen. Morgan through Kentucky. 

" 5. — Order complimenting the Array of Virginia issued by 
President Davis. 

" 7. — Action on the Bayou Cache, between Albert Pike and the 
Feds, under Hovey, in which the former was repulsed. 

" 8. — Gen. McClellan reinforced by Burnside. 

" 10. — Lee's army withdraws from before McClellan. 

" 11. — Gen. Halleck made General-in-chief of the Federal forces. 

" 13. — Battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Federal Gens. Crit- 
tenden and Duffield defeated and taken by the Con- 
federates. 

" 14. — Cynthiana, Ky., surrenders to the Confederates under 
Gen. John Morgan. 

" 15. — The Confederate iron-clad gunboat Arkansas escapes out 
of the Yazoo river, and runs through the Federal 
fleet to Vicksburg. Ineffectual attempt of the Fed- 
erals to sink her at the dock. 

« « — rpj^g Confederates under Gen. Pains and Gen. Coffee 
engage the Federals under Miller near Fayetteville. 

« 18. — Celebrated order issued by Major-gen. Pope. 

" 22. — Completion of the fruitless canal opposite Vicksburg. 



378 CHliONOLOGY OF THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 

July 23. — Second Order issued by Gen. Pope. 

" 24. — Proclamation issued by the Confederate General John 
Morgan. The Nashville reaches Macon, Ga., with 
22 pieces of artillery taken at Inkernian, and presented 
to the South by British merchants. The court con- 
vened to investigate the destruction of the Virginia 
(or Merrimac) exonerates Tatnall. 

*' 28. — Grand Junction, Miss., on the Memphis and Charleston 
railroad, captured by the Confederates. 

" 29. — Gen. Pope takes the field. 

" " — Humboldt, Tenn., at the junction of the Memphis and 
Ohio and the Mississippi Central railroads, taken by 
the Confederate troops. 

" 31. — Letter of President Davis to Gen. Lee, in regard to 
Gen. Pope's Order of July 23. 
Aug. 1. — Retaliatory General Order issued by the Adjutant-gen. 
of the Confederate service, declaring Gens. Pope, Stein- 
wehr, and their officers, out of the pale of military 
law, and to be treated as felons if captured. 

" 3. — Action near Memphis, Tenn., between Gen. Jeff. Thomp- 
son and a Federal force. 

" " — McClellan ordered by Gen. Halleck to evacuate the 
Peninsula. 

" 4. — Gen. Hooker advances to Malvern Hill, the last move- 
ment of the Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula. 

" 5. — Gen. J. C. Breckenridge, ex- Vice-President of the Uni- 
ted States, with a force of 3,000 men, attacks Baton 
Rouge, but retires. Gen. Williams, of the Federal 
army, killed. 

(( « — The Confederate ram, Arkansas, destroyed. 

" 6.— Porter defeated by McNeil at KirksviUe. 

" v.— Col. F. McCuUough shot at KirksviUe by order of 
McNeil. 

" 8. — Battle of Cedar Mountain, between Gen. T. J. Jackson 
and Gen. Banks. Federal loss, 1500 killed, wounded, 
and missing, as they admit. Gens. Augur and Geary 
wounded and Prince taken. Banks saved by the ar- 
rival of Pope. 

" " — Donaldsonville, La., destroyed by Admiral Farragut. 

" " — Action at Tazewell, Tenn., between the Confederates 
under Gen. Stevens and Gen. DeCourcy's Federal 
brigade. 



CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAR. 379 

Aug. 11. — Action near Clarendon, Ark., between Gen. Hovey, U. S. 
A., and Gen. Hindman, C. S. A. 

" 13. — The Confederates Quantrell and Hughes take Indepen- 
dence, Mo. 

" 15. — The Federals defeated at Lone Jack. 300 killed and 
wounded, and two pieces of artillery taken. 

" " —Gen. Neil executes ten Confederate soldiers at Palmyra. 

" 16. — The Federals abandon Baton Rouge. 

« " — Gen. McClellan retires from Harrison's Landing. 

" 18.— Gen. John Morgan, C. S. A., cuts the Federal railroad 
communication north of Nashville. 

« 19^ — The Confederates capture Clarksville, Tenn., and the 
whole garrison, without firing a shot. 

«t 20.— Gen. Cooper, Adjutant-general C. S. A., by order, threat- 
ens retaUation for the lives of peaceable citizens said to 
have been taken by Gen. Fitch in Arkansas. 

" 21. — General Cooper, Adjutant-gen. C. S. A., by general 
order, declares Major-gen. Hunter and Brigadier-gen. 
Phelps outlaws, and if captured to be treated as felons, 
for inciting negroes against their masters. 

" 22. — Gen. Morgan defeats the Federal Gen. Johnson near 
Gallatin, and takes nearly half his force. 

« 25. — Inefiectual attack on Fort Donelson. 

" « — Gen. Jackson having passed through Thoroughfare Gap 
occupies Manassas. 

cc 27. — Battle of Bristow Station or Kettle Run, between Gens. 
Hooker and Ewell. 

« " — Gen. Taylor, of the Army of the Potomac, defeated and 
killed near Bull Run Bridge by Gen. Jackson. 

" 29.— Battle of Groveton, between Gens. Jackson and Long- 
street and the Federal army under Pope. 

« « —First battle of Richmond, Ky. The Confederate army 
checked by Gen. Manson after a severe fight. 

« 30.— Second battle of Richmond : Manson defeated with the 
loss of 3,000 killed, wounded, and prisoners, by the 
Confederate Gens. Churchill and Cleborne. 

«t « —Action at Bolivar, Tenn., between the Confederate cav- 
alry and the Federal Col. Leggett. 

« « —General Pope defeated by General Lee, on the old 
battle-ground of Bull Run. Pope retires to Centre- 
ville. 
ggpt, 1 —Gen. A. P. Hill defeats the enemy at Germantown, near 



380 CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

Fairfax C. H. The Federals lose Gens. Kearny and 
Stevens. Federal loss under Pope, 50,000. 
Sept. 1. — Sharp contest at Brittou's Lane, Tenn., between the 
Confederate Gen. Armstrong and Col. Dennis. 

" 2. — Panic at Cincinnati, caused by fears of the coming of the 
Confederate army. 

" " — Pope resigns command, and McClellan succeeds in- 
formally. 

" 4. — Confederate army begins to cross the Potomac. 

" " — Gen. Kirby Smith takes Lexington, Ky. 

" v. — Gen. McClellan takes the field with the Army of the 
Potomac. 

" " — Confederate attack on Gen. Julius White at Martins- 
burg. 

" 8. — Gen. Lee occupies Frederick and issues a proclamation 
to the people of Maryland. 

" 9. — Attack on the Federals at Williamsburg, Ya. 

" 10. — The Federal troops at Fayette C. H., Va., defeated by 
the Confederates. 

« « — Federals under Col. Lightburn retreat from Gauley 
Bridge, Va., to Charleston, which he evacuated and 
burned on the 13th. 

" " — Natchez, Miss., surrenders to the U. S. gunboat Essex. 

" 11. — Maysville, Ky., and Bloomfield, Mo., taken by the Con- 
federate troops. • 

" 12. — Sharp action at Middletown, Md. 

" 13. — Maryland Heights evacuated by Col. Ford. 

" 14. — Battle of Boonesboro, between Gen. McClellan and Gen. 
Lee. The Federal Gen. Reno killed. McClellan 
gains the passes at a loss of 2,325, admitted. 

" 15. — Harper's Ferry with its garrison of 11,000 men, with 
13 cannon and 200 wagons, captured by Gen. T. J. 
Jackson, and the Federal commander. Col. Miles, 
killed. 

" 16. — Confederate troops retire from before Cincinnati. 

" " — Action at Green River Bridge, Ky. 

" 17. — Munfordsville, Ky., with 5,000 Federals, captured by 
Gen. Bragg. 

** " — Battle of Sharpsburg, or Antietam, between Gen. Lee 
and Gen. McClellan. Confederate loss about 14,000 
in killed and wounded ; acknowledged Federal loss, 
12,500. 



CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 381 

Sept. 1 1. — The Confederate Privateer Alabama captured her first 
prize off the Azores. 

" " — Cumberland Gap evacuated by the Federal Gen. Geo. 
W. Morgan, who retreats to the Ohio. 

" 18. — A Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving in the Confederate 
States for the victories at Richmond and at Ma- 
nassas. 

" 19. — Gen. Lee recrosses into Virginia. 

" 20. — Gen. Price defeated at luka, Miss., by Gen. Rosecrans. 
Gen. J. E. B. Stuart with his cavalry makes a dash 
into Maryland. 

" " — Col. Barnes crosses the Potomac at Shepherdstown and 
is defeated by the Confederates. 

" 22. — President Lincoln issues a Proclamation declaring that 
on 1st January, 1863, all slaves in States and parts of 
them in rebellion should be forever free. 

" 24. — Gen. Beauregard takes command at Charleston. 

" 25. — Gen. Buell succeeds in reaching Louisville. 

" 27. — The Confederate cavalry take Augusta, Ky., and after a 
long fight capture the Federal garrison. 
Oct. 4. — Gen. Bragg joins Gen. Smith at Frankfort, Ky. 

" " — Hawes inaugurated Governor of Kentucky by the Con- 
federates, and the place evacuated. 

" " — Generals Price and Van Dorn attack Rosecrans at Cor- 
inth, Miss., and are defeated with the loss of 3,000 
killed and wounded, and 1,500 prisoners. 

" 5. — Battle of the Hatchie : the Confederate rear attacked by 
Generals Ord and Hurlburt. 

" 6. — Confederate forces attack Gen. Palmer near Lavergne. 

" 8. — Gen. Buell defeated at Perryville by Gen. Bragg — the 
Federals lose Generals Jackson, Terrill, and Webster, 
killed. Federal loss over 3,200. 

*' 9. — Galveston taken. 

" 10. — Gen. J. E. B. Stuart with 1,800 cavalry crosses into 
Maryland, and advances to Chambersburg, Pa., where 
he destroyed 5,000 muskets, clothing, machine-shops, 
depots, cars, &c., and on his retreat destroys railroads 
and telegraphs, crossing back into Virginia without 
losing one man killed. 

" 12. — Gen. Bragg begins his retreat. ^ 

" 18. — Shawneetown, Kansas, burnt by Quantrell. 

" 22. — Gen. Bragg avoids Buell and enters Tennessee. 



382 CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 

Oct. 22. — Battle of Marysville, Ark. : Confederates defeated by 
Gen. Blunt. 

" " — Battle of Pocataligo, S. C, between the Federals under 
Gen. Terry and the Confederates under Gen. Beau- 
regard. The Federals defeated in their attempt to 
destroy the railroad. 

" 2 7.-r Action at Labadieville on the bayou Lafourche. The 
Federals under Gen. Weitzel. 

" 28. — Confederate camp at Fayetteville, Ark., attacked by 
Gen. Herron. 

" 30. — Gen. Rosecrans supersedes Buell, and assumes command 
of the Department of the Cumberland. 
Nov. 1. — Cavalry skinnish at Piedmont. 

" 3. — Aflfair at Snicker's Gap, Va. 

" 7. — Gen. Burnside supersedes McClellan in the army of the 
Potomac. 

" 17. — Gen. Burnside occupies Falmouth, Va. Jas. A. Sadden 
of Goochland Co., Va., appointed Secretary of War 
for the Confederate States. President Davis issues 
an Order demanding the Surrender of Gen. McNeil, 
and threatening retaliation. 

'" 25. — Confederate troops began fortifying Port Hudson. 

" " — Pooleville, Md., occupied by Confederate cavalry. 

" 27. — Battle of Prairie Grove, Ark., between Gen. Blunt and 
General Marmaduke. Federal loss, 1,000 ; Confed- 
erate, 300. 
Dec. 1. — Action at Franklin, Va. 

" 2. — Grenada, Miss., occupied by the Federal Gen. Hovey. 

" 6. — Gen. Banks' Expedition leaves New Yoi'k. 

" 7. — Generals Blunt and Herron defeat Gen. Hindman at 
Prairie Grove, Ark. 

tc « — fpijg Confederate Steamer Alabama captures the Cali- 
fornia Steamer Ariel. 

" " — Gen. Morgan captures 1,800, and kills and wounds 200 
Federals at Hartsville, Tenn., with 200 small-arms, 
and 2 pieces of artillery. 

" 8. — Piketon, Ky., taken by Clarkson. 

" 9. — Concordia, Ark., burned by the Federals. 

" 10. — Engagement at Plymouth, N. C, in which the town is 
destroyed. 

" 11. — ^Fredericksburg, Va., bombarded by the Federals, who 
cross on pontoons. 



CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND YEAR OF THE WAR. 383 

Dec. 13. — Action at Southwest Creek and Kinston, N. C, be- 
tween the Confederate troops, under Gen. Evans, and 
the Federals, under Gen. Foster. 

" " — Confederates blow up the gunboat Cairo with a tor- 
pedo. 

" " —Gen. Burnside assaults Lee's works, in three columns, 
under Sumner, Hooker, and Franklin, and js repulsed 
with loss. The Federal Generals Bayard and Jack- 
son, and the Confederate Generals T. R. R.. Cobb 
and Maxcy Gregg, killed. 

" 14, — Poolesville, Md., again occupied by Confederate cavalry. 

" 16. — Gen. Butler superseded by Gen. Banks. 

" 17. — Gen. Grover takes possession of Baton Rouge. 

" 20. — Holly Spring, Miss., surrendered to the Confederates 
with 1,950 men, and two millions of dollars in com- 
missary stores, cotton, and clothing. 

" 23. — Attack on Sigel at Dumfries, repulsed with loss. 

" 27.— Gen. Morgan attacks the Federals at Elizabeth, Ky. 

« « :— Ineffectual attack of Gen. Sherman on Vicksburg. 

" 27.-8. — Gens. Blunt and Herron take Van Buren, Ark. 

" 31. — Battle of Murfreesboro. 

« " — Galveston recaptured by Gen. Magruder, the Federal 
steamers Harriet Lane taken, and Westfield blown up, 
all the land forces under Col. Burrall being made 
prisoners. 

1863. 

Jan, 2. — Battle of Murfreesboro or Stone River ends in Bragg's 
defeat by Rosecrans, with a loss of 2,000 killed and 
wounded. 
• " 7. — Springfield, Mo., attacked by Gen. Marmaduke, but suc- 
cessfully defended by Gen. Brown and Col. Crabbe. 
" 9. — Arkansas Post attacked by the Federals under Gen. 

McClernand. 
" 11.— The U. S. steamer Hatteras, Capt. Blake, sunk by the 

Alabama, Capt. Semmes. 
« " — Arkansas Post taken . by the Federals. Confederate 

loss, 200 killed and wounded, and 3,000 prisoners. 
" 13. — Gen. Wheeler captures five Federal storeships and a 

gunboat, the Slidell, on the Cumberland. 
« 14. — Severe action on the Bayou Teche, near Carney's 



384: CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND TEAK OF THE WAE. 

Bridge, on land and water. The Confederate gun- 
boat Cotton, burned. 
Jan. 30. — Blockading fleet off Cliarleston attacked by Confederate 
rams : the Mercedita is disabled and strikes, but 
escapes. The blockade prematurely declared raised. 

" 31. — Action on the Blackwater between Gen. Pryor and the 
Federal Gen. Corcoran. 
Feb. 14. — The Federal steamer Queen of the West run ashore by 
a Confederate pilot under the guns of a fort, and cap- 
tured by the Confederates. 

" 24. — Indianola (Federal steamer) taken by the Confederate 
steamers Queen of the West and Webb. 

" 27. — Panic caused by a sham turreted monster, induces the 
Confederate officers to destroy the Indianola. 
March 3. — Gen. Van Dorn takes 2,200 Federals at Thompson's 
Station; 

« " — Federals repulsed at Fort McAllister near Savannah. 

" 11. — Depredations committed in Florida by Col. Montgom- 
ery of Kansas, with negro troops. 

" 13. — The Federal expedition up the Yazoo defeated by the 
Confederate batteries. 

" 14. — TheU. S. steamer Mississippi disabled and destroyed in 
attempting to pass the batteries at Port Hudson. 

" 15. — The Federals commence the bombardment of Port 
Hudson. 

" 17. — Battle of Kelly's Ford, between the U. S. cavalry un- 
der Gen. Averill, and the Confederate cavalry under 
Gens. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee. 

" « — The Confederate position on the Blackwater, opposite 
Franklin, Va., attacked by Gen. Peck, who is repulsed, 
by Gen. Jenkins. 

" 22.— Col. Cluke, C. S. A., captures a Federal force of 200, at 
Mount Sterling, Ky. 

" 26. — The U. S. steamer Lancaster sunk, and Switzerland dis- 
abled in attempting to pass Vicksburg. 

" 28. — The U. S. gunboat Diana captured on the Atchafalaya. 

" 29. — Danville, Ky., captured by the Federal troops under 
Gen. Gillmore. 

" " — Confederate forces attack Williamsburg, Va. 

" 30. — Battle of Somerset, Ky,, between Gen. Pegram, and the 
Federal general, Gillmore. 

" " — Gens. Hill and Pettigrew invest Washington, N. C. 



CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND TEAR OF THE WAR. 385 

April 1. — Confederate Camp at "Woodbury, Tenn., captured. 

" 2. — Sharp skirmish in Carroll Co., Ark. Cavalry fight at 
Dranesville, Va. 

" Y. — Attack on Fort Sumter and other defences of Charles- 
ton, by the Federal iron-clad fleet, which retires after 
losing the Keokuk. 

" 10. — Severe action at Franklin, Tenn., between Gen. Van' 
Dorn and Gen. Granger. 

" 15. — Siege of Washington, N. C, raised. 

" 16. — Com. Porter runs past Vicksburg, losing the Henry 
Clay. 

" 18. — Action at Bear Creek, Ala., between Gen. Dodge and 
Gen. Bragg. 

" 20. — Butte a la Rose taken by Gen. Banks. 

" 27. — Gen. Imboden repulses Gen. Mulligan near Morgan- 
town, Va. 

" 29.— Attack on Grand Gulf, Miss. 

" 30. — Gen. Grant lands at Boulinsburg, below Vicksburg. 
May 1. — Battle of Port Gibson. 

" . 2. — Battle of Chancellorsville — first day, Jackson flanks 
Hooker, and routs the 11th corps, — but is mortally 
wounded. 

" 3. — Lee attacks Hooker's new line on the left, driving them 
back, and kills Gen, Berry. 

" 4. — The heigTits of Fredericksburg carried by Gen. Sedg- 
wick. 

" " — Fort de Russey, Red river, captured by Admiral Porter. 

" 14. — Grant defeats Confederate forces under Gregg, at Ray- 
mond. 

" " — Jackson, Miss., taken by the Federals under Gen. Grant. 

" 16.— Gen. Pemberton defeated at the battle of Baker's Creek. 

" 18. — Battle of Bottom's Bridge, on the Big Black : Pember- 
ton defeated by Grant. 

" 20. — Gen. Grant and Admiral Porter invest Vicksburg. 

" 22. — Gen. Grant repulsed in an attempt to storm the defences 
of Vicksburg. 

" 23. — Austria, Miss., burned by Gen. Gillet. 

" 25. — Steamers Arrow and Emily captured by Confederates, 
cutting off Federal communication in N. C. and Va. 

" 26.— U. S. gunboat Cincinnati sunk by Vicksburg batteries. 

" 27. — Gen. Banks endeavors to carry Port Hudson by storm, 
but is repulsed with loss. 
25 



S86 CHRONOLOGY OF THE SECOND YEAK OF THE WAE. 

Jime 3. — Simmsport destroyed by Col. Ellet. 
" 7. — Severe action at Milliken's Bend, La. 
" 9. — Cavalry engagement near Rappahannock Station. 
" 14. — Second assault on Port Hudson. 
" " — Milroy, the Federal commander, surprised and defeated 

at Winchester, by Gen. Lee. 
" 15. — President Lincoln, alarmed by Lee's advance, calls lor 

more troops. Confederate cavalry enter Pennsylva- 
nia. 
" 22. — Confederates capture 200 Federals at Bear Creek. 
" 27. — Federal troops defeated at Rockville, Ind. 
July 1. — Battle of Gettysburg, Pa. The Federal Gen. Reynolds 

defeated and killed. 
" 2. — Lee attacks Gen. Meade, but is finally repulsed, Gen. 

Barksdale being killed. 
" 3. — Lee finally repulsed in both attacks on Meade. 
" 4. — Gen. Pemberton surrenders Vicksburg to Gen. Grant. 
" " — Holmes, Price, and Marmaduke repulsed by Prentiss, in 

an attack on Helena, Ark. 
" 9. — Gen. Gardner surrenders Port Hudson to Gen. Banks. 
" 11. — Gen. Morgan enters Indiana. 
"13-15. — Riots in New York in opposition to the Conscription 

Act. 
" 13. — Yazoo City and 200 prisoners taken, by Gen. Herron. 
" 17. — Gen. Morgan repulsed at Berlin, Ind. 
" 26. — Gen. Morgan captured at New Lisbon, 0. 



